Chapter 681 – 674 the Underground Village of Bergen
Thanks to Hwanin’s party’s performance, the raid ended neatly with no one injured.
While all the Gifla tribes and Arjuang in the village rushed to clean up the corpses of heteromorphic insects that had been raiding, and Hwanin’s women were also helping, Hwanin did not help and walked around the village alone.
Hwanin leisurely groping the walls of the village community and examining the ground while bathing in the dazzling light pouring from the ceiling.
“…”
While staring at an unknown small white flower on the lawn, he was approached by a stooped old man from the Gifla tribe.
= Hello…=
‘Is it the head of the village?’
Hwanin slightly bowed down to the greeting of the approaching old man.
As you might have guessed from his gray hair and clear voice typical of an old man, he was the village headman who was badly injured in the attack of the Heterogeneous Species before Hwanin arrived.
= This is an old man who barely got up thanks to Ayoung’s healing technique… He is the head of Bergen…=
“Is that so? I’m glad you feel better.”
When you get older, your body will become dwarfed, but the Gifla tribe did not look that old even though they were old, perhaps because of their innately young appearance and physique.
But, thanks to that, he generally looks like an ordinary old man.
Lee Jang leaned on his staff and bowed to Hwanin.
=If it wasn’t for the help of a precious person, the village would have been in ruins last night… Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving the village…=
As if it was too much for him to say this much, the chief gasped slightly while holding on to his thin staff.
=I’m sorry for the late greeting… I was going to say hello right away, but the time to go to the garden of the god is not far… Heh heh heh.=
A voice with almost no energy. A waxy complexion that indicates that the body is not in normal condition. He smiles, but there is no power in his voice.
It feels like looking at a candle that is almost all burnt out and only remnants remain.
At that time, two young Gifla women rushed over and bowed to Hwanin, supporting the head from the left and right, shouting with a voice full of worries.
= The chief’s grandfather is also real. You’re not feeling well, so why do you keep going out!=
=Please rest at home.=
= In the yard when it’s time to go, can’t we just lie down… I have to do my job…=
=Don’t say that. Everyone is still anxious…=
= Everyone will be sad when the head grandfather dies…=
Hwanin silently watched the words and actions of the Gifla woman who supported the village chief, then reached out to the village chief who was about to go home supported by the women.
“For a moment.”
=Yes?=
=Huh?=
Then, after touching his dry shoulder to the point where you could feel his bones, he let out a little bit of energy, a very little bit of energy.
= Huh… ?=
The effect was dramatic. The wrinkled face of Lee Jang, whose complexion was pale like wax, had a reddish complexion, and his waist, which had been stooping almost to the point of a gigantic body, was widened.
= Oh my God, this is…=
= With. Wow.=
Two female Gifla exclaimed briefly at the sight of Lee Jang, who seemed to have regained her energy, and looked at Hwanin with sparkling eyes.
Hwanin nodded his head slightly, looking at Lee Jang, who seemed a little bewildered.
At least until he returned from the labyrinth, he had to keep the head alive.
It would be a great help in persuading the villagers to relocate if such a popular figure helped them by their side.
“Chief Lee. I’d like to talk to you for a moment. It’s a big deal for the future of this town.”
=Yes. All right. You go back and help others. I must listen to the precious person.=
= Yes? Uh…=
= Let it go. Let’s do what the chief said.=
=… Yes. Chief, we’ll be helping to clear the pit over there, so be sure to call when we’re done talking?
= I got it, I got it. Shall we go then?=
The head of the village, who sent the two of them with a benevolent expression, followed Hwanin with a serious expression full of the old man’s age.
“I don’t come across backflow often, but I don’t think it’s normal for a heteromorph to raid a village so systematically.”
Occupy the farms around the village first, cut off the supply of the enemy, cut off the outside world, and gradually increase the number of troops.
Then, when the farm was destroyed, they attacked the village with a large force on the same day.
It is unusual for an insect-type heteromorphic species with almost no intelligence to surprise a village by launching a diversionary operation.
Hearing Hwanin’s story, the chief nodded his head cautiously.
= Ugh. I am an ignorant old man, but I can tell you that this phenomenon is not normal. What the noble person is trying to say is that there is something in our town that attracts heterogeneous species.=
“I think it’s most likely something installed by the great sage. It is something that the labyrinth is instinctively drawn to.”
Saying so, Hwanin, who gathered phase power in the palm of his hand, weakly released his energy.
Most of the energy shimmered like a light haze and disappeared as if it permeated into the air, but only a small portion was absorbed by the walls of the labyrinth.
It’s the same as what happened at the farm, but all you can see is Hwanin.
However, the head of the Gifla tribe noticed it with a sensitive sense and made a dark expression.
“As expected, the labyrinth should be expanding its territory by now. And the territory once developed in that way will remain even if the labyrinth disappears. What happened once is likely to happen again.”
=If this happens again, then it will be the day the village disappears…=
The chief’s eyes were directed to the tunnel in the village vacant lot that Hwanin filled with the corpse of Hyungjong Lee this morning.
Nearly 100 Giflas and 30 Arjuangs are working hard to carry the corpse, but one heteromorphic species is three to four times the size of the Giflas, and it is broken into hundreds or thousands of pieces by the Hwanin’s Light Spear. It looks like it’s taking a while.
The village would have been destroyed and remained only with the heterogeneous species that crawled out of that hole.
The number of heterogeneous species who entered the village through two passageways was not small either. It was blocked because the village was in full-fledged resistance. If it was a normal village, the troops would have been captured at once.
If it wasn’t for the party brought by the precious person in front of us, there would have been dozens of casualties.
The village chief realized what Hwanin was trying to say and spoke with a bitter expression on his lips.
=Even so, we cannot abandon the village. It’s the same extinct species as going out of town and being slowly exterminated among people with thinning blood, or being eaten by a heterogeneous species that visited one day… At least the latter is the way to disappear while protecting one’s roots and bloodline.=
“…”
=I know that even a precious person has heard why we live in a place like this. It is natural for weak races to be exterminated in a world of weak meat, so please don’t worry.=
Even if they are young, naive, and short-lived, their age does not disappear.
Hwanin recognized the story he was trying to bring out and was slightly impressed by Lee Jang, who softly but euphemistically refused.
Yes, “That’s right. Okay,” And moving on is a different story.
Hwanin took out warm honey water tea from the aspen and poured it over to the chief.
“My status is Yeongdo’s Spirit Master. Have you ever heard of it?”
= Did you! I didn’t understand why he had so much power and yet went out of his way to do something that didn’t make any profit, but he did… !=
To the admiring head, Hwanin continued persuading him in a quiet voice.
“I have a high status among those soul masters. It is not difficult to provide you with a place to settle down.”
=Uh, uhm.=
“Of course, this is not a story about living in the midst of people. If you accept, you will be able to live without any worries on the side of the peaceful spiritual mountain Al Nor. Not in an underground cave with artificial light like this, but under a real blue sky and warm sun.”
=…=
Hwanin’s proposal was like a dream to Lee Jang.
Although he has lived in Bergen all his life, he is not without outside experiences. It is quite an experience to dress up like a child and go outside the village.
Yeongsan is known as the realm of divine beasts. A place where people don’t get involved…
“If you accept, you are the second of a handful of rare race transfer cases.”
= Two, the second? Are you saying there is a first one?=
“The first is about 60 giants with a height of 20m. Nearly half a year ago, with the permission of Yeongdo’s Daesongnyeo, we built a nest near Yeongsan.”
= Giants… !=
The village head, who was sitting on a small fence and listening to the story, jumped up with excitement. After a while, the head of the village, who came to his senses, sat down again and fell into trouble.
Hwanin saw such a scene and judged that he had almost crossed over.
The fact that the dexterity of the Gifla tribe is extraordinary is enough to confirm while looking around the village for a while.
Even in a place where there is no spinning machine or anything, he makes one-piece dresses that are close to children’s suits out of linen.
Qual’s jewel-cutting skills were such that Yurpa admired the jewels he made, and the bows, crossbows, and arrows made with great care by the town’s chief archer and mayor were a level that even Ah-yeong was a little greedy for.
Even a young girl in the village can easily make a bow and crossbow, and the entire tribe has the skill and dexterity of an artisan.
If they join Youngdo, it will be of great help to improve Youngdo’s technology.
= Ugh. Hmm…=
Hwanin stood up from his seat and calmly opened his mouth as it seemed that the head of the village, who was already frowning on his wrinkled eyebrows, needed time.
“It would be difficult to answer right away. I will need time to discuss it with the villagers, so please consider it while I clear the labyrinth.”
It’s poor persuasion, but in the first place, this is not a world where information overflows like a flood like Earth. Even with these conditions, persuasion is sufficient, and above all, he is their lifesaver.
Safety and stability, and living on the ground, not underground, are enough for persuasion.
When Hwanin tried to turn around, the chief hurriedly opened his mouth.
=Ah, there is something I want to ask you.=
“Yes.”
=If you accept your proposal, the move will be… How is it done? It takes several months to travel from here to Yeongdo, but if you go through the towns and villages of people…=
Hwanin laughed lightly inwardly and replied normally.
“Don’t worry about that. I will talk to the great saintess of Yeongdo to find out how to use space movement.”
The material, Phase Stone, was secured enough through the early morning battle. There is also Yurpa technology, so as long as you coordinate with Yeongdo, you won’t have to stop by Nirain or Palatum in the middle.
Hwanin left behind the chief who was bowing to him and moved to the wanderer’s resting place.
=Yes~ There are 189 people, but the weight and size are only about half that of adult males and females, so it won’t be a big burden. There is a place in Yeongdo where the space movement technique is applied, so if you control the secret technique with this lead…=
Yu Lepa, who was scribbling the Whiririk secret formula, shook her head.
= Yes. Is it possible. In addition to Gifla, 47 Arjuans can handle it.=
Hwanin, who had a brief consultation with Yurpa, immediately communicated with Yeongdo’s Daesongnyeo direct line and relayed what had happened there.
[Nearly 200 of the Gifla tribe, who were said to have been extinct, were still alive! This is also the guidance of the god of love.]
“According to tradition, they were a very good and kind tribe. However, it seems that fear and anxiety toward other races, which we call outsiders, continue to be quite strong, so it seems necessary to be considerate of them.”
[You don’t have to worry about that. As Seongje said, if you live as a neighbor by giving away a safe and warm mountain, exchanges will open before you know it. Like the giants.]
“It seems that the exchange with the giants has begun.”
[Tell me what to do! Most of the giants have been armed thanks to the armor made from Yamioko’s hide that you provided, and the shaman making weapons from Yamioko’s bones. With that power, the invasion of the evil faction that came down from the north was really easily solved.]
You should have seen the expressions of the monks and citizens at that time, but she is a great saintess who smiles pleasantly.
After hearing the story, there were close to 6,000 monsters of an average level 4, but when 40 giants were dispatched, they were exterminated so easily that it was really frustrating.
[I made the huge scale armor into the chainmail shape you mentioned, and armed it with two-handed hammers, two-handed maces, and two-handed spears with Yamioko’s backbone, spine, and ribs, and it was truly majestic like 40,000 troops. The citizens of Yeongdo were delighted that they no longer had to be afraid of the threat of Evil Faction, and the giants were happy that they could repay the favor, so isn’t it all good?]
“But I wonder if neighboring countries will think so too.”
[About that, I sent an envoy to Hethrond and Radsea, hoping to establish close diplomatic relations with them. It’s understandable because of your performance, but it’s questionable that Radsea is like that too.]
“You don’t have to worry about Radsea.”
Hwanin slightly frowned at the great saintess’ story, but she wasn’t too worried.
Even if the relationship with Radsea is drastically diverged, the troops they can send are limited, and this side now has a well-established giant soldier.
Since they had a good relationship with Palatum, even if Radseah had a nefarious ulterior motive, he wouldn’t be able to act rashly to keep Palatum in check.
[And… At the time of the Ascension Celestial Festival, I heard one news through a spiritist who was active on the side of Merianol, but the leading passage of Merianol seems to be quite confused.]
“What is the reason? If…”
[Hmm. It seems that some of the survivors of the Elwidris event have revealed the contents of the pre-dog poetry related to you. The high-ranking aristocrat over there carefully tipped off the high-ranking spirit master with whom he had a close friendship, so the white wolf probably didn’t get any information either.]
This is also not very good news.
If it hadn’t been for the increase in strength thanks to the shrapnel, I would have seriously stopped going to Merianol.
Hwanin questioned the great saintess, thinking that he should gather information about her before coming up with a countermeasure against her.
“Would it be all right if I provided this information to the white wolves?”
[Of course. Because that’s what I was told. You too will soon enter the realm of Merianol, so the more information and news, the better.]
“It is as you say. Thank you.”
In response to her Hwanin’s gratitude, the great saintess gave her a warm smile like her mother’s, then opened her mouth as if she had suddenly remembered it.
[Oh, did you hear that EL gave birth to her baby girl a few days ago?]
“… I heard it for the first time.”
Seeing Hwanin’s expression that she had been hit in the head, the great saintess in the video said that she knew that, and she smiled a bit bitterly.
[She said she would deliver it herself and asked her girl to wait… It seems like he purposely hid it because he didn’t want to burden you.]
His heart throbs again when he thinks of El Cata, whose belly is swollen like Namsan during pregnancy, and the fetus that shines a gigantic presence in her belly.
It felt like riding a roller coaster, not just the heart, but the whole intestines turned upside down.
Among the unfamiliar sensations, Hwanin rarely chose a detour rather than a head-on breakthrough due to the agitation of exceptionally strong emotions.
‘Right now, the Giflas come first. For now, Elkata’s work is a lower priority.’
If it was usual, I would have been in a bad mood at the point of procrastinating what I had to do.
However, since the agitation was at the level of suppressing such emotions, Hwan-in summoned A-young without further emotional confusion, gave orders to the white wolves to investigate passages, and made a map of the underground passage by working the blue spirit in the water in earnest.
It took two full days to clean up the Lee Hyeong-jong who raided the village.
Apparently, a lot of effort was put into the raid, but there were no raids after that, so Hwanin was able to concentrate on making a map of the underground cave, and with the help of Arjuang and Qual, the details of the map were able to be saved.
=The road has become very complicated… At this level, if you go down carelessly, you might even lose your way…=
After seeing the map completed in two days, Qual was perplexed, expressing his worries and concerns without hesitation.
The number of aisles and crossroads has increased by nearly four times compared to before the heterogeneous species appeared.
‘At this level, I guess we should consider the end of Bergen Village.’
Even if all the overflowing heterogeneous species were sorted out, the situation was such that the underground tunnel was so close to a labyrinth.
Filling the crypts is impossible (because it would take too much time), and monsters of an average level 4 live in the Great Plains of Hiarid on the surface.
You don’t know what kind of monsters might come in and take their place in this maze, but continuing to live in Bergen is no different from living with a lit dynamite in your arms.
“Then, Yurupa, please take care of the back work.”
Hwanin said while looking at Yurpa holding Silu in her arms and Immorel possessing a celestial body standing behind her.
= Yes. Leave her village to her aunt and me and go carefully. =
While he and the women are away to clear the labyrinth, Yurpa and Immorell will be responsible for the safety of the village.
Isilite and the women, who have finished preparing for the campaign, approach with their large adventure backpacks on their backs and say.
= Master. Preparations for labyrinth exploration are over.=
“Okay. We will depart as soon as the fantasy returns.”
Holding a map drawn by Hwanin, Hwanyeon, as a high-level land spirit, went to block all the tunnels in the middle of the village as well as all the passageways leading to the farm, except for the air passage.
As if the work was finished just in time, he was flying over here with Norn.
Hwanin said to the chief of Bergen Village, who was standing with the support of Hinro among the Gifla tribes gathered together.
“It won’t take a week at the most, so please prepare for the move in the meantime. So that when we return, we can head straight to Yeongdo.”
=Yes. I will arrange it neatly according to the will of the precious person…=
During the two days when Hwanin was busy drawing a map, the head of Bergen also spent a busy time gathering the villagers to listen to and gather their opinions.
As a result, all 189 Gifla and 47 Arjuang agreed to move to Yeongsan Al Nor, where Yeongdo is located.
What played a decisive role was the map of the entire underground passageway drawn by Hwanin.
A cave so complicated that you can get lost even with a map.
Living right above such an underground cave gave the Gifla tribe a fear of living in a shack floated by buoys in the open sea.
A massive air raid two days earlier was also a contributing factor to their decision.
「Hwanin. All but one aisle is blocked.”
“Good work. Then we will depart.”
Hwanin picked her up, put her in her inner pocket, and left Bergen Village with her girlfriends, Isilite, Anne, Ayoung, Baek Ryogang, and Norn, who were ready to explore.
