Chapter 251
‘No. I can’t start with this mindset.’
Choi Yeonseung changed his mind. It was true that the goddess of balance had recently lost many things due to various mistakes, and consequently her ranking had plummeted, but she was nonetheless still doing well.
Not falling behind the prominent constellations that were the first ones to come to Earth wasn’t something that everyone could do. Moreover, her power of seeing into the future was so strong that not even the constellations of the Abyss could imitate it.
“Is that so? The goddess must have a brilliant plan if she said this.”
-Yes. I helped her make the plans.
“Oh...”
Choi Yeonseung suddenly felt relieved.
-I’ll be relieved if the angel helps.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ is relieved!]
Choi Yeonseung thought it was fortunate that the goddess of balance couldn’t listen to the conversation. If she had been listening, she might’ve actually become an evil god constellation.
‘I have to trust her.’
-You have to make cool-headed judgments as a constellation. This type of warmth...
‘Why don’t you stop it?’
***
Each constellation had their own preferences in terms of constellation battles.
The berserker constellation preferred one-on-one duels in which the household members fought to the death, while the goddess of balance preferred battles that were six versus six.
Of course, constellations couldn’t just simply fight the type of battles that they preferred. However, if a constellation picked a battle mode that the enemy was also comfortable with, the enemy was likely to accept.
It was simply a matter of pride for the constellation, regardless of victory or defeat.
-The Noble Crown Collector’s preferred constellation battle is a treasure hunt.
“...?”
Choi Yeonseung was flustered for a moment when he heard the name of that constellation battle. It sounded like an innocent game for children. What was that?
-It’s a bit different from what you’re thinking.
The goddess of sloth explained the ‘treasure hunt’ to Choi Yeonseung. Although there was ‘treasure’ in the name, the rules were much more brutal than that. The battle consisted of entering the realm of the enemy constellation and trying to find their holy relic.
-The holy relic... It should be considered part of the constellation.
A constellation had to rule over a vast kingdom and never had enough eyes and hands for that. It was impossible to monitor everything at once, so the constellations used holy relics. A holy relic was a treasure created using the constellation’s power of existence. Planting such a treasure in the ground made it easier for a constellation to govern their land. One could consider it being their alter ego planted in the ground.
-Indeed. Something similar had happened on Earth.
In the past, there was a time when the evil constellation secretly buried holy relics in the ground and it subsequently became a controversial topic.
-What happened?
The goddess of sloth was curious about the story.
Usually, mortals who picked up the holy relic of a constellation suffered either a fate of greatness or one of destruction. Under the influence of the holy relic, they either became heroes or slayers of the kingdom.
-Some of them reported it to the government, received compensation, and turned their life around.
-......
The goddess of sloth was at a loss for words.
-In any case, you have to go to someone else’s territory to find the holy relic. I think the conditions are too unfavorable.
-But there are also some rules for the owner of the realm.
The constellation who owned the realm couldn’t intervene directly, nor could they even watch. Being able to help their household members was a significant advantage for constellations, so this rule was a clear penalty.
-Even so, many insist that the one looking for the household relic is at a disadvantage. That’s why there are many constellations who don’t accept this type of battle.
Indeed, the side with the territory seemed to have the advantage, despite the penalty on their part.
‘But the constellation won’t refuse because of this.’
Choi Yeonseung realized what the goddess of balance was thinking. The collector constellation would be absolutely confident in the treasure hunt because of the rules, so much so that he wasn’t going to refuse anyone who proposed it. If they could find a clear way to win and then propose the battle… They would be able to perfectly pierce that arrogance.
“Then how can we win?”
-That’s something you will have to think about from now on.
“...????”
For a moment, Choi Yeonseung couldn’t believe his ears.
No way...?
Fortunately, Adaquaniel wasn’t an irresponsible angel. She had a plan.
***
“The United Kingdom... It’s the United Kingdom.”
-Have you ever been there?
“The only thing I know about the United Kingdom is what I learned from textbooks when I was in school.”
Choi Yeonseung recalled his blurry image of the United Kingdom. It was the image of the British traveling around the world and occupying places...
-...?? Isn’t that country like an evil god constellation?
“It’s not like that... Right? Anyway.”
Adaquaniel’s suggestion was simple.
The land of the United Kingdom was now occupied by the collector constellation. Somewhere on British soil, a holy relic of the collector constellation was buried. If they infiltrated there, secretly found the location of the holy relic, and then proposed a constellation battle, the collector constellation would certainly not refuse.
Normally, it would’ve been difficult to sneak into England no matter how many realms the collector constellation possessed...
However, things were different now. Wasn’t the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons attacking the United Kingdom with a large number of followers? Both sides were fiercely and ceaselessly attacking and counterattacking. Thus, even if a few hunters entered the United Kingdom and then swiftly got out, the collector constellation would never notice.
“It’s a good strategy. It’s better to do this in advance before the fight is over.”
-I also agree.
After a long time, all the constellations that were with Choi Yeonseung agreed. They liked the strategy set up by the goddess of balance! This was despite Choi Yeonseung’s opinion that it seemed more like Adaquaniel’s strategy.
“Just... I don't want to be too exposed when I go there. Won’t it be too conspicuous if I go by myself or with just Adaquaniel?”
The moment Adaquaniel was discovered, the collector constellation would get suspicious.
The same was true of Choi Yeonseung. Given how many things had happened recently, the collector constellation was bound to be suspicious of the incarnation of training.
-That’s also true. Um... How about taking other hunters with you? You'd be able to avoid such suspicions if you take the other hunters of your clan with you.
If Choi Yeonseung went in alone, anyone would suspect that he had been sent by his constellation. However, if he entered with the other clan hunters, then it was a good chance they would mistakenly think that he was just being a greedy clan leader.
Corporations and clans were so greedy that even the evil god constellations acknowledged them.
“It’s not a bad idea, but I doubt that the clan hunters will want to go to the United Kingdom. That place has long become an evil den. Why would they want to go?”
Unless it was a group of hunters who were originally from the United Kingdom, there wasn’t much of a reason to go there.
***
“As expected...! I knew it!”
“??”
The hunters from the Icarus clan were impressed by Choi Yeonseung’s words, which seemed to have scratched an itch. Choi Yeonseung was taken aback by the hunters’ reactions, which were more enthusiastic than he had expected, and proceeded to question Elisabeth.
“What’s wrong with them? Are they interested in the United Kingdom?”
“What? You actually don’t know?”
Elisabeth was puzzled. She thought that Choi Yeonseung made this proposal because he knew about it.
Raid hunters were always thirsty for dungeons and monsters. Some hunters dreamed of hitting the big jackpot and retiring, but the talented hunters who joined the Icarus clan were far from such a mindset. It was the so-called dungeon addiction!
They were addicted to the tension and thrill they felt when clearing the dungeons, as well as the rewards and reputation they got after clearing it. There were also the cheers of countless people that came after killing monsters and clearing the dungeon.
They were addicted to it… To all of it…
“I get that, but what does that have to do with anything?” asked Choi Yeonseung.
“Isn’t it because a lot of monsters have emerged in the United Kingdom?”
The French government had made an emergency request to hunters because of how many monsters had appeared, and thanks to that, the situation was no longer urgent. However, there still were several monsters appearing on the British side due to the confrontation between the two constellations.
As a result, some clans were willing to actively hunt monsters there rather than wait for a dungeon to eventually appear. If the collector constellation had been in a good condition, he would’ve punished the invaders who set foot in the United Kingdom, but surprisingly, the collector constellation was so distracted that he couldn’t do so.
“Look. The Schreiber clan is the clan you met last time, right? They’ve also landed in the United Kingdom and they seem to be really successful.”
@Schreiber_Lane
-I am currently in Whiteley, England. Friends, several hunters have said that they can’t make it to England. Well, I’m in England! This place is awesome!
@Schreiber_Lane
-Yesterday, our clan killed one B-grade monster and twelve C-grade monsters. I thought the British wouldn’t sell anything, but they’re selling coffee. Ah, right. The food is either disgusting or tasteless.
@Schreiber_Lane
-The food here doesn’t seem to have changed despite the country being ruled by a constellation. Right now I remember the dungeon cooking that Hunter Choi Yeonseung used to make for us during raids. It was amazingly delicious. It’s exactly like this... (photo attached).
Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. “Do I need to look at all of this?”
“No. You don’t need to look at everything.” Elisabeth thought so and turned off her phone. “In any case, you now understand how things are, right?”
“Yes.”
The clans, who hesitated at first because it seemed dangerous, slowly became more greedy and sneaked into the United Kingdom one by one. The collector constellation would’ve been angry if he had known about this, but…
***
“We were already preparing because of what Ernest has said.”
The clan employees couldn’t stay still because rumors had spread just like that. In addition to various preparations, they were looking for a good place for the hunters to stay in the United Kingdom.
Choi Yeonseung asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You want to go as well??”
The clan’s staff member stared in bewilderment.
“Aren’t you overdoing it? An A-grade hunter...”
“...The South Korean government gave me the green light.”
“Shouldn’t you get permission from the US government?”
“I don’t know why I would have to get permission from the US government, but they’re okay with it.”
Choi Yeonseung shamelessly lied.
‘There is no reason why I should ask for permission.’
The staff member seemed relieved after he heard this. “I’m glad. These days, all governments are paying close attention to managing A-grade hunters.”
There weren’t many A-grade hunters out there, and the low-ranking hunters were evolving at a rather slow pace. Therefore, it would be problematic for the government if the number of A-grade hunters decreased.
Moreover, given the newly opened Abyss Gate, the government wanted their hunters to stay quietly at home unless they were absolutely needed somewhere. Of course, the hunters weren’t the type of people to listen to the government.
‘I’m sorry.’
Of course, Choi Yeonseung also had a purpose to act, but...
He also felt genuinely sorry for the headaches that the civil servants that both countries would have.
***
In order for Adaquaniel to accompany Choi Yeonseung with the other hunters, they needed to hide her real identity. Choi Yeonseung decided to do that because it wouldn’t be good for her if people found out that she was an angel.
“By the way, who’s that hunter?”
“She’s a hunter I met in South Korea. I brought her with me in order to see what she’s capable of.”
“Ohh...”
The Icarus clan hunters were surprised when they heard that Choi Yeonseung had brought her from South Korea.
Was she that talented?
“...Wait, I don’t think she is Korean?”
Antony was puzzled.
Next to him, Smallwood shook his head and said, “What do you mean, Schneider? She can’t be Korean just because she’s white?”
“No...”
“How disappointing, Schneider.”
“I’ve always known he’s terrible. He seems like a racist guy.”
The other hunters, who usually disliked Antony, muttered to each other. Antony was unaffected by the other rude remarks, but he couldn’t help feeling upset because of the word ‘racist.’
“Choi Yeonseung, don’t get me wrong! I’m not a racist!”
“This... Will you please stay away from me?”
“H...Hey!”
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