Chapter 78: Get lost, I called dibs first (1)
Translator: miraclerifle
Ju-Heon immediately activated an artifact as rocks started to fall.
Boom!
It was Hwarang’s Sword. The police baton that came out of his pocket instantly turned into a sword and slashed the falling rocks into pieces.
Boom, Boom!
Ju-Heon landed back on the ground and shouted toward the worm he captured inside the glass bottle.
“This is your first order. Make those children gather the tea leaves.”
It was so that he could save time, but the worm shouted from inside the glass bottle.
[What, you need to first give me some riches!]
“What? I already gave you some.”
[That was the contract fee to sign a contract! The labor fee is separate!]
“...........”
‘He really is a money-stealing hippo.’
Ju-Heon debated ripping it apart and boiling it but suddenly had a thought. He then had a slight smile as he threw more of the pearls Yoo Jaeha created into the air.
“Alright, work!”
That was 70 million won more!
The worm started to dance while looking at this rain of pearls.
Aigoo, it’s raining money!
[I will do as you command, master!]
The pearls soon shined and disappeared before the worm that absorbed the riches burped and shouted.
[Alright humans, what are you doing? Hurry up and gather the tea leaves!]
The children who had been sitting and crying started to quickly gather seedlings. They were much faster and skilled than when the other three people were doing it.
Yoo Jaeha was wowed while looking at their shocking skill but he suddenly realized an issue.
“Captain-nim! This is good and all, but how are we going to get out? Do we have to go back the way we came?”
He was asking this because he knew very well how they had gotten here. However, Ju-Heon just sneered at him.
"Are you crazy? Why would we go back up through that 10-hour distance?”
There was a better way than that stupid method.
Lo and behold, Ju-Heon started to laugh while looking at the worm.
"Alright, you should know how to get out of here. Right, artifact?”
However, the artifact became anxious.
[B, but you have to destroy the tomb to get out of here. That means I'll have to betray Shennong...]
It seemed to have become friendly with Shennong as it was leeching off it. It didn't want to fight against Shennong's artifact that would definitely not let the intruders leave.
However, Ju-Heon smiled like the devil and shook some more pearls.
“I'll give you three more of these.”
Furthermore, the pearls he was holding this time were very large.
[Please just leave it to me! Master!]
Something amazing started to happen at the same time.
The children suddenly ran toward a warehouse, grabbed something, and headed toward the wall.
The children were actually holding dynamites. Keira and the US soldiers who conquered this tomb must have left them here.
The children seemed to know exactly which spot connected to the exit as they skillfully placed the dynamites and detonated them.
Boom!
A byway to the exit was finally revealed. Of course, the worm seemed to not be thinking about his betrayal anymore as he was just excited while watching the tomb being destroyed.
It might innocently be thinking that it was great that this new master of his was extremely generous.
But it happened at that moment.
Kugugung!
The owner of the tomb started to run wild as it probably realized the situation after seeing the byway being opened.
[$#&#&#!]
You arrogant humans, whose belongings do you think you are trying to run away with?!
Shennong's artifact was one of Keira’s possession-type artifacts. The artifact that noticed Ju-Heon and the other intruders would not just let him be.
The ground started to crack and the Jeep they came in was gobbled up into the ground.
Kugugung!
That wasn’t the only thing.
The tea leaves fluttered in the wind and started to release an odd powder.
“Mr. Ju-Heon, this...!”
Ju-Heon urgently covered Irene's mouth.
“Don’t breathe it in! It’s poison!”
“Mmmmph!”
“Number 1! Follow those children outside!”
"What about you, Captain-nim?”
“Do you even need to ask? I need to take one more bastard with me.”
‘One more bastard?’
“Captain-nim, y, you're not...”
Ju-Heon wickedly smiled.
There was no way a thief would leave a nice item behind, right?
As expected, he strongly slammed down a flint he stole from the CIA.
[The first embers for mankind belonging to the Homo Erectus (D-Grade:Antique-Grade - Consumable Artifact)]
- Remaining Uses (140/200)
Something amazing then started to happen.
Bang!
A fire started as soon as he struck the artifact and it started to rage. The burning flame instantly spread to the tea plantation.
Artifacts would be fine even if they were hit by a nuclear weapon, but it was a different story when they were attacked by another artifact!
The tens of thousands of pyeong wide tea plantation instantly started to burn.
The guard's jaws dropped in shock.
“T, the tea leaves! Isn’t that all money? Is it okay to do this?!”
Ju-Heon just snorted.
These things didn't fit into his burglar sack. He already gathered the seedlings to propagate.
The only thing left was to erase their tracks and make sure two of the same things did not exist in the world.
‘I'm sorry, General-nim. I'm going to have to monopolize the tea leaves.’
It was at that moment.
[#$#$&!]
Ahhhhh, it’s hot, it’s hot!
Shennong's artifact that had been hiding in the tea plantation was screaming as if it was in pain. Shennong's artifact had been a tea tree as well.
It was a plant-type artifact like the Herb of Eternal Youth!
[Shennong’s Tea Tree that knows the taste of Heaven (SS-Grade: Divine-Grade - Possession-type Artifact)]
As it was in the shape of a tree, it seemed to be in pain even after being attacked by a D-Grade artifact’s fire. As it was an artifact focused on producing food, it was useful but lacked any defensive capabilities.
It happened as Ju-Heon was about to quickly snatch Shennong.
“Captain-nim! Watch out!”
Boom!
The ground Ju-Heon was standing on cracked as if a large earthquake was happening.
‘Tsk!’
“Captain-nim!”
A shocked Yoo Jaeha and Irene urgently reached their arms out. However, Ju-Heon and Shennong's artifact instantly fell underground as the ground cracked.
This was the result of the artifact’s anger, as if it was trying to make him die with it.
The rest of the group was shocked.
“Captain-nim!”
“Mr. Ju-Heon!”
However, Ju-Heon was no longer visible after disappearing into the dark underground.
“F*ck! Captain-nim! Captain-nim!”
Yoo Jaeha was swearing as he struck the blocked wall with a shovel.
Yoo Jaeha and Irene had tried to climb down the hole once Ju-Heon fell.
However!
Boom!
A mysterious transparent wall appeared and made it so that they could not chase after Ju-Heon as if it was rejecting them.
It was Shennong's aura wall.
“F*ck!”
That wasn’t the only thing.
THe tomb continued to attack after that.
And currently...
They who had no choice but to exit the tomb to avoid the attacks were grinding their teeth while looking at the completely shut stone mountain.
Ju-Heon was completely imprisoned inside now. It was because of an artifact’s ploy!
The entrance they had created had long been closed as well. That was why they were standing there thinking, ‘who cares if we brought all these tea leaves out with us.’
The most important person was trapped inside the tomb!
Yoo Jaeha started to get angry at the situation.
‘Ahh, our Captain-nim is going to die like this. Is there really no way inside?”
The guard then asked as if she found it odd that he was worried.
“But can't that person just destroy the tomb and exit kind of like how we entered?”
Of course, Ju-Heon had some odd skills. He could just make artifacts explode to create a path out like they had done earlier.
However, Yoo Jaeha got angry as if to tell her to shut the hell up if she didn't know anything.
“Will you shut the hell up? That’s only possible if he has artifacts with him! He can’t make it all the way out based on the amount he has on him! I have most of the artifacts!”
Yoo Jaeha was carrying the majority of the heavy Consumable Artifacts. It was because he had to restore them.
Yoo Jaeha was lamenting as if he did something wrong.
“Ah, I should have fallen down with him...! Or, I should have at least thrown him the bag of artifacts...!”
Although he frequently grumbled on the outside, Yoo Jaeha actually liked Ju-Heon. Although he was a terrible person who bossed people around too much, Ju-Heon had been the first person to show him a dream.
Even if all of it was a bluff, he had been thinking that he found someone worth trusting for the first time in a long while.
“Ow, that’s why I'm going to go inside no matter what I have to do! Irene, help me! I won't be able to sleep out of guilt if the Captain-nim dies like this!”
“Okay!”
Irene and Yoo Jaeha had come together for the same purpose and were about to try something with an artifact.
"Captain-nim, I'm coming to save y...!”
It happened at that moment.
Bang!
“Mommy!”
Irene, Yoo Jaeha, and the guard all covered their ears after hearing an extremely loud explosion. It sounded as if a cannon was going off.
“W, what the? What the hell was that?!”
Something shocking happened at the same time. The stone mountain that reminded him of the Australian Uluru started to crumble.
Boom!
They started to move back in shock.
The stone mountain split open and an extremely bright light shot up into the air. A significant amount of dust and wind spread out from the shock.
“Aaaaaah!”
The stone mountain was swept up by the light and turned into ashes.
They could only see a large pit when they opened their eyes a few minutes later.
Yoo Jaeha who had fallen to the ground and blanked out got up and ran toward the pit with Irene.
The pit that was now where the stone mountain had been was as deep as a sinkhole.
It happened at that moment.
They shouted as if they found something.
“Captain-nim!”
“Mr. Ju-Heon!”
Lo and behold, something was climbing up from deep down. He was grumbling as he climbed up.
“Damn it, why the hell did a damn tree have to resist so much?”
The person who was slowly climbing up while holding onto a rope was none other than Ju-Heon.
“Captain-niiiiiim!”
“Mr. Ju-Heoooooon!”
Both of them started to sniffle in relief that Ju-Heon was alive.
Of course, Ju-Heon just looked at them like they were weird. As for the rope artifact that was wrapped around Ju-Heon and helping him up, it was twitching while saying, ‘master, master, praise me when we get up there, praise me.’
Yoo Jaeha soon shouted happily toward the climbing Ju-Heon.
“I'm sorry, I was next to you, I should have done something!”
“No, it's not your fault. There are plenty of accidents inside tombs.”
“...Yes sir! But Captain-nim! What happened? That explosion just now was no joke...just how...!”
Ju-Heon whose clothes were a mess leisurely pointed below him.
Ju-Heon was pulling up something that looked like a corpse.
That was none other than Shennong's artifact that only had its root left. Of course, the root was still quite large to the point it was much taller than Ju-Heon.
Yoo Jaeha looked at it and stiffened up with an ominous feeling.
"C, captain-nim. There’s no way that is...”
Ju-Heon laughed out loud while looking at the root that was being dragged.
“I got annoyed and just destroyed this bastard!”
It was now burned to the point where it was impossible to tell whether it was the root of a tea tree or an alien lifeform.
‘This person, he really...!’
He had left Xu Fu’s artifact alone because he needed it, but he seemed to have gotten rid of Shennong’s artifact in anger!
He was curious as to how Ju-Heon had destroyed it, but it was obvious he did something terrible to the artifact.
Anyway, the tomb had disappeared because the artifact in charge was destroyed.
Ju-Heon who was completely scorched thanks to that was pulling the large root up as if he was pulling a shark or a whale up. It was quite large, so it was difficult for Ju-Heon to carry.
"Ah, this bastard’s really being annoying.”
“...........”
“Anyway, number 1! I know it’s going to be a bit difficult, but is it possible for you to restore plant-type artifacts too?”
The muscles in Yoo Jaeha's face started to twitch.
“Uhh...uhh...yes sir. It should be possible. Of course it is.”
Ju-Heon was looking at him with a gaze that seemed to be saying he would kill him if he said no.
“Now all that is left is to awaken the Herb of Eternal Youth.”
Irene’s face brightened after hearing Ju-Heon comment.
“Then my parents!”
“Yes, we just have to meet up with the farmers in New York now.”
Of course, Ju-Heon would need to personally fuse the Herb of Eternal Youth with Xu Fu’s artifact and awaken it once they got there.
‘I should only need a day or so to awaken it.’
There were about 4 days left.
They should have plenty of time to return to the Holten couple before it is too late.
It happened at that moment.
Ju-Heon received an unexpected urgent call once he arrived at the New York airport.
[Farmer Leader]
It was a call from Oh Seung Woo.
An urgent voice started to speak as soon as he picked up.
“Hyu, hyung-nim! May I ask where you are?!”
“New York John F. Kennedy Airport. I should be at the meeting spot in a few hours, why?”
[We are currently in a restroom of a Hamburger joint in New York city! We are being chased! US soldiers are chasing us! They seem to be after this almond tree....!]
Ju-Heon scoffed as if he found it ridiculous.
‘These bastards?’
It was obvious Keira caught onto the scent of the Herb of Eternal Youth. The Oh Seung Woo group was shaking on the other side of the call.
[What do we do? They look like they’re going to kill us if they catch us...!]
“Shut up, keep running away and listen carefully.”
[Yes, hyung-nim!]
Ju-Heon started to smile.
Now that he had the artifacts he needed, it was time to checkmate the annoying General.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦