Chapter 65: An Unprecedented Transfer Examination (3)

* * *In the outskirts of the Manchurian base.A luxurious car was speeding along the road leading to the military warehouse.Inside the smoothly moving vehicle, it was Darulma Dune behind the steering wheel. His skills were uncharacteristic of a dwarf, heading swiftly towards the warehouse.Of course, he couldn’t try to push the speed to the limit since this was a military-managed road, with a checkpoint almost every three minutes.Darulma sighed as he approached the checkpoint, and a barricade came out with the stop signal.Well, it was understandable for them to be greedy given how extraordinary the item in the warehouse was… but this was just too blatant.He waved at the approaching sentry and glanced at the rearview mirror.- - - They were the Saintess, who was enthusiastically talking about the academy, and Yeomyeong, who was fiddling with his phone without even giving her a glance.Looking at the two of them, Darulma thought about the events that had taken place just a few minutes ago.The Saintess offered him an admission application to attend the academy together, and Yeomyeong rejected the proposal.He didn’t give any detailed reason for his refusal. It was just a simple ‘There’s no need.’Having been rejected, the Saintess showed neither surprise nor disappointment. Instead, she chuckled as if she had expected this to happen...However, Darulma, who had been observing them, was different. His mind was filled with question marks.Why? No matter how much he thought about it, Yeomyeong didn’t seem to have any reason to refuse.He wasn’t lacking in terms of skills to attend the academy, nor was he too old, and he wasn’t short of money either.And attending the academy with the Saintess was an opportunity anybody would jump at. It was a chance to guarantee both his current fame and future glory!Countless companies and governments would be showering him with offers... so why give up on all that?Darulma subtly adjusted the rearview mirror and snuck a glance at Yeomyeong.He had swallowed the World Tree’s crystal in one gulp and claimed ownership of the items from this expedition…Looking at the actions Yeomyeong had taken so far, he seemed far from a hero who had let go of all his desires.If anything, he at least seemed to be less greedy than ordinary Superhumans or mercenaries.Of course, even that was impressive by itself, but it was far from the hero promised by destiny.A promised hero should be free from all desires… Darulma unconsciously shook his head.…At that moment, he made eye contact with Yeomyeong through the rearview mirror. From his narrowly opened eyes, Yeomyeong’s subdued golden gaze swept over him.Darulma flinched in surprise and quickly looked away. Had he just been caught peeking? He awkwardly cleared his throat.- Fortunately for him, the inspection ended just in time.The sentry waved his hand, and as soon as the barricade that had been blocking the road was opened, Darulma hit the gasFor some reason, the look Yeomyeong had just given him was stuck in his mind.Trying to shake off his stray thoughts, Darulma focused more intently on driving."Darulma."After increasing the speed for a while, Yeomyeong suddenly spoke up."Uh, hm? What’s bothering you?""Are you okay?""What do you mean by 'okay'... Ah, are you talking about the inspection? If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. I’ve known what those Korean soldier bastards are like for a long time.""Not that. I’m asking if there’s something wrong with your health...""Is it really obvious? It’s just that I haven’t been getting much sleep these past few days due to work."Darulma replied while deliberately avoiding Yeomyeong’s gaze. Yeomyeong looked puzzled but he didn’t press further."...If you notice anything wrong, please let me know immediately."With that final remark, the group arrived at the warehouse.* * *The perimeter around the warehouse was heavily guarded. Thick iron doors, high outer walls, and heavily armed soldiers greeted the group. S~eaʀᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

As soon as they stepped out of the vehicle, a military officer who seemed to be an officer approached them."Welcome to Warehouse No. 4 of the Manchurian base.""Long time no see, Colonel Jung.""It's been a while, Darulma-nim. And it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Saintess. I am Colonel Jung Mincheol, overseer of this warehouse."The officer, who introduced himself as Jung Mincheol, saluted the Saintess with a serious demeanor, and the Saintess returned the greeting with a slight nod.However, he… completely ignored Yeomyeong, who had just gotten out of the car. It was a deliberate disregard."Darulma-nim, if you had let us know in advance, the Commander would have personally come to greet you. With all due respect, I’m the only one here to welcome you at the moment.""Why should the owner need to notify anyone when they are just coming to check the item?""Owner... Yes, the owner of the item is you, Darulma.""Show us around. We want to take a look at the items first."Unlike when he had been avoiding Yeomyeong’s gaze earlier, Darulma was now exuding the dignity of a chaebol as he ordered Colonel Jung.With a somewhat reluctant expression, Colonel Jung led the group.As they entered the warehouse under the protection of armed soldiers, the ‘item’ Darulma had mentioned greeted them.Red scales and wings, and a massive body that occupied the entirety of the warehouse with its tail coiled.The dragon, restrained by enormous metal shackles, was also being administered a staggering amount of anesthetics and sleeping pills, and it was a creature both Yeomyeong and the Saintess were familiar with.It was the red dragon that had once threatened to burn Manchuria to the ground, Orsay Taboul.The dragon was still alive. It was just asleep as if unconscious, but thanks to its fierce life force, even the wounds on its wings and legs had almost healed.Yeomyeong had a slight frown as he carefully observed the dragon’s condition.He was informed that the government was keeping the dragon alive, but he hadn’t taken into account its regeneration speed.However, Colonel Jung led the group to a surveillance tower above the dragon's head without any concern.From this position, they could easily see the entire dragon. Colonel Jung proudly pointed to the office window."What do you think? This equipment for capturing dragons is the Korean military’s pride.""Equipment to capture a dragon?"How long had it been since dragon hunting was banned, and they still had such equipment?It was as if they were screaming, ‘We are this serious about dragons!’ Darulma simply shook his head."Well... it is impressive.""I’m glad that you find it impressive."After exchanging customary pleasantries, Colonel Jung spoke in a subtle voice."Darulma-nim, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to get straight to the discussion regarding the shares of the dragon. The Saintess is here as well, isn’t she?""Shares? What are you talking about?""I’m speaking of the byproducts after we slaughter the dragon. The military doesn’t want much. Just the whole tail... that would be sufficient."It was a rather blatant request. Darulma raised his eyebrows in disbelief and looked at Yeomyeong. His expression was no different."Darulma-nim, I hope you understand that this is the tiniest request.""...Tiniest? That makes it sound like there's something even more absurd than this.""Do you remember the treasures around the dragon?"As soon as Colonel Jung said that, a soldier from the surveillance tower quickly went out and brought in something from the outside.A box labeled [Strictly Controlled].Inside it was the treasure bag that had belonged to Mara, the Royal Seal, and the Handle of Uragan.Darulma’s expression twisted with displeasure as he examined the contents of the box."Why are these things here? I’m sure we requested for them to be returned.""Darulma-nim, all these treasures were secured by the military. And unlike the case with the dragon, the military has a share in these treasures.""The military has a share in these? These are treasures that my mercenary group fought for, and some originally belonged to the mercenaries. No law recognizes shares in such cases!"Darulma protested vigorously, but Colonel Jung simply smiled."If you wish, you can take this matter to court."Court? Darulma snorted."You’re planning on dragging this to Korean courts rather than the International Court of Justice, aren’t you? Ha, so you plan to delay things and torment us all until we reach the Supreme Court? Is that what you're saying?""As I said, that’s only if you choose to go down that path. If you just hand over the tail, the military will immediately give up all claims to these treasures and return them to the mercenary group.""Do you think Dungan Heavy Industries will tolerate this outrage? We’ve even paid all the costs for deploying the military!""Darulma-nim, please understand that this is the biggest concession the military can make."Saying this, Colonel Jung then turned his gaze to the Saintess."Saintess, I should let you know in advance that pressuring us like last time won’t work."Was Colonel Jung still bitter about having had Kahal Magdu’s rib bones taken from right under his nose? There was even a hint of subtle hostility in his gaze.Regardless, it didn’t look like the Saintess cared."Anyway, Darulma-nim, I hope you think about this carefully. The Korean military wants to maintain a good relationship with not only Dungan Heavy Industries but also with the mercenary group that defeated the dragon—"As Colonel Jung droned on his explanation, he noticed something strange and fell silent.Both Darulma and the Saintess were focused on some mercenary instead, not paying attention to him in the slightest.While Colonel Jung took a moment to try and get a read of the situation, Darulma spoke."Yeomyeong, what will you do?""...Didn’t you bring me here knowing well that this would happen? I’m disappointed, Darulma.""No, that’s a misunderstanding. I thought they would only ask for a claw or two or maybe a tooth."Playing with his long beard, Darulma added."But to think they’d ask for the whole tail just for handling the transportation. Pretty audacious of them. Do you think I would have expected this?"Only then did Colonel Jung realize that the conversation had gone awry. Why was Darulma being so deferential to that mercenary?And who was this mercenary bastard, anyway?On closer inspection, he did look oddly familiar. A young mercenary with golden eyes... Could it be?"Um... Darulma-nim, who is that mercenary?"", you should already know. This is Cheon Yeomyeong, the mercenary who played the most vital role in defeating the dragon."Hearing the name Cheon Yeomyeong, Colonel Jung unconsciously clenched his fist.The same bastard who had seized the dragon’s rib bones the military had painstakingly obtained and had cut off Jung Mapil’s arms as well.Did he realize how much money he had to spend just to re-attach Jung Mapil’s arms? The thought of the slush funds he had to squander naturally stirred up the deep-rooted resentment in his heart.Colonel Jung spoke as he tried to suppress his anger."Ah, so you’re the one who’s been making waves recently. I have failed to recognize him. But... to say that he played the most vital role in defeating the dragon?""According to Captain Kwon Mongjoo, the injuries to the dragon’s wings, legs, and eyes were all his handiwork.""...""To put it plainly, Colonel Jung, the largest share of the dragon belongs to this person."He had the largest share? Colonel Jung blinked in disbelief.He did come across articles written by some unreliable reporters about a rookie mercenary defeating the dragon… but was that really the truth?Swallowing his racial slurs, he decided to play along with the dwarf.Having reached this far, he didn’t care what kind of antics they tried to pull because the military was determined to get the tail."Ahem, it looks like we’ll need to negotiate with this person then."Colonel Jung cleared his throat in an exaggerated manner before speaking to Yeomyeong in a tone that was much more domineering than when he was addressing Darulma."Yeomyeong, as stated earlier, the military’s position remains firm. Hand over the dragon’s tail, and we can part ways amicably."Yeomyeong did not respond. He simply tilted his head slightly as he looked at Colonel Jung and then shifted his gaze to the dragon outside the surveillance tower."Again, this is the biggest concession the military can make. Even if we prolong this discussion, the military’s stance will not...""Just release it."“…What?”“The dragon is a species protected under international law. Won’t it be fine to just let it go?”“…”What the hell was this crazy bastard saying?Bewildered, Colonel Jung looked at Darulma, but Darulma was stroking his beard with a look of admiration.The Saintess was no different. As if she found it amusing, she laughed as she alternated her gaze between Yeomyeong and Colonel Jung.“I agree. I’ll relinquish all my shares to Yeomyeong.”As soon as the Saintess gave her approval, everyone’s attention was now on Darulma. He stared at Colonel Jung with narrowed eyes.“Well, if the Saintess has decided to show mercy, the mercenary group has no choice but to agree as well.”“Then it seems the matter regarding the dragon is settled. Now, let’s go and prepare for court.”Was that an empty threat? Or was he being serious? While Colonel Jung was pondering, Yeomyeong turned around.“W-wait a minute!”Just before the party could exit the surveillance tower, Colonel Jung stopped them.“Darulma! This is completely unacceptable! This is a lawfully subdued dragon! And you want to let it go?”“...To be precise, the one who said to let it go was this person here.”“Is that what you call talking? A brat like him managed to defeat the dragon? There’s a limit to how much you can look down on the military!”As Colonel Jung shouted, the gaze of the soldiers in the vicinity turned towards the group.Despite the stares from the heavily armed soldiers, Darulma just shrugged his shoulders.“Well, what can we do if that’s the truth? And if you don’t believe me, you can just ask the dragon yourself. Ah, you’ll need to wake it up before releasing it, right? You can do that then. Isn’t that right?”Only then did Colonel Jung realize Darulma’s audacity wasn’t just an act. So, did it mean that it was true?Colonel Jung gulped down hard unconsciously.If what Darulma said was true, and they had to release the dragon…The military would look for a scapegoat to hold accountable.And that scapegoat would be none other than… Colonel Jung himself, the one who provoked Darulma.The military would never forgive him. Best case scenario, he would face a dishonorable discharge; worst case scenario, he could be sent to the frontlines of North Manchuria on an eradication mission.Colonel Jung’s eyes darted around anxiously. Then, he noticed the soldiers behind Yeomyeong and his group, watching him.These were the troops the higher-ups had mobilized to guard the dragon, to be precise, the warehouse where the dragon was sleeping.And the soldiers in sight were just the beginning. Including those outside the warehouse, there must be close to a hundred.A hundred soldiers. An epiphany crossed Colonel Jung’s mind.All thoughts about the consequences of killing the Saintess and the dwarf chaebol had already vanished from his mind..As people often did when cornered, Colonel Jung took action immediately.He pulled out the remote for the emergency alarm and his pistol, pointing it at the back of Yeomyeong’s head.Sensing something odd, Yeomyeong turned his head.The Colonel pulled the trigger.