Chapter 29

"Chahaya!!!"

Seo-won threw away the camouflage branches and hurriedly got up. Chahaya's voice was quite loud, and he lowered his sword, with the remaining guys' gazes turning towards this direction.

Since Chahaya had already gone crazy, it wasn't a good idea to keep hiding. However, if he jumped down like Chahaya, he would need to have steel rods inserted into his legs, so Seo-won slid down the tunnel like a slide.

The DK guys looked at him with puzzled expressions, wondering why he was so cautious in coming down, making his cheeks burn.

"Deputy Guild Master of Tachun, what's going on? Is this by your order?"

The DK guild members, who had been waiting for Seo-won to come down for a long time, finally closed the distance. Seo-won wished he had gotten a mask from Chahaya. He wiped his face, which had been splattered with spit from the excited opponent, with his palm. Meanwhile, Chahaya was using the scabbard to brush off the grass and dirt from Seo-won's buttocks.

"Hello, Deputy Guild Master Seo-won. I am Kim Han-sol, the team leader of DK Guild's 1st line."

The most rational-looking person among them was the healer who had treated the injured driver earlier. Seo-won did not shake the offered hand but merely nodded.

"Since the Deputy Guild Master of Tachun is here, could you explain what's going on?"

While saying this, she kept glancing at the tunnel.

"Deputy Guild Master?"

"This is a deviation by our guild member, Chahaya."

The DK guild member visibly relaxed.

If it were Chahaya, it wouldn't be difficult to kill all of them and retake the tunnel. But doing so would turn all the manseong species in the Narakja into enemies. It almost happened just now.

Even if they are the top manseong species, if the upper species unite and attack, it would be a tough fight. Seo-won decided to take a step back.

If only Chahaya hadn't acted rashly...

Seo-won frowned and glared at Chahaya. Regardless, Chahaya, wearing a mask, whispered something into Seo-won's ear.

"Then, could you hurry up and go?"

A young man with freckles challenged, but the healer, Kim Han-sol, stretched out her hand to stop him.

Seo-won, who had been exchanging whispers with Chahaya, blinked. At that moment, Kim Han-sol felt a sense of foreboding. Seo-won's gaze, which had been filled with difficulty, changed. It was as if a mischievous child had come up with a clever prank.

"Team Leader Kim Han-sol, as you know, I, the Deputy Guild Master of Tachun, have all the authority because our Guild Master is absent."

"Is that so?"

"Could you convey this to the DK Guild Master? We want to exchange our South Dong for your Northwest."

"Are you serious? What kind of nonsense is this? You come to someone else's place and act like this?"

Kim Han-sol lost her composure and became agitated.

"If you don't accept, the Tachun Guild will relinquish all rights to South Dong from that moment on."

The DK guild members raised their voices, questioning what kind of trick this was.

Chahaya, with his tall figure, stood in front of Seo-won, blocking Kim Han-sol's view, who tried to look directly at Seo-won. His mischievous actions made Kim Han-sol's face turn bright red.

"Mr. Chahaya? What are you trying to do? What did you mean by that just now?"

"What do you mean? If their Guild Master doesn't understand, our Deputy Guild Master will order us to take Northwest by force."

With a flick, a white sword aura emerged from Chahaya's sword. He exuded an aura that he would kill the healer in front of him if anyone dared to attack.

"Are you really going to do it?!"

"Even if they are the top-tier, if we all attack together,"

"Enough!"

Kim Han-sol shouted sharply.

"Deputy Guild Master of Tachun, please tell the truth. You know everything, right?"

Seo-won took a step to the side and faced Kim Han-sol.

"Team Leader Kim Han-sol, your assumptions are correct."

"If... if we don't attack you two, will you let us go safely?"

"For now, yes. But if the exchange of South Dong and Northwest is not accepted, we will have no choice but to engage in a full-scale war."

"Wow! Deputy Guild Master of Tachun, you're a real bastard!"

A man who had been holding back finally made a gesture.

"No, he's a rat."

If it were any other time, Seo-won would have said something to the sluggish Chahaya, but there were too many eyes watching now.

"Half... How about a compromise where we split it like that?"

Kim Han-sol must have meant to split the tunnel's variant in half, not chicken.

"Do you have the authority to do that?"

"Didn't you already expect that?"

Seo-won smiled at the wary Kim Han-sol.

Seo-won recalled the information Chahaya had whispered to him earlier.

'Kim Han-sol, this woman is the real power in DK. She was one of the original members of the comprehensive guild, but Oh Kyung-min betrayed her. After that, she joined DK and helped organize the guild members, leading to the capture of Northwest.'

'Kim Han-sol and Jo Kyung-min? Changing names is just a concept at this point.'

'Yes, your reaction is so funny I can't give up.'

"But how did you find out?"

Kim Han-sol did not mention Woo Gwang-seok at all. If they only vaguely knew, she wanted to leave multiple escape routes. If they knew the tunnel's secrets, she wanted to find out where the information leaked from.

"Don't misunderstand, I didn't hear it from a DK guild member."

Only the guild members who guarded the tunnel in shifts knew its secrets. Seo-won continued, as if warning them not to blame the guards.

"After I came to Narakja, I wandered for a while. Then, I accidentally discovered this tunnel. I saw the variants appearing periodically here, but after killing a few, I left without much thought. At that time, I didn't know that Woo Gwang-seok was used for the gate."

<‘Elephant Shrew Seo-won’ is pretending to have discovered it first!>

Seo-won ignored the messenger's chime.

"Deputy Guild Master."

Kim Han-sol moistened her dry lips.

"Then, how about this? We will supply Woo Gwang-seok to the Tachun Guild. You only have six members left, right?"

Including himself, there were Chahaya, Kang San, Yu Chan, Abdul Raziz, Han Don-hee, and Yeong-il, making a total of seven members...

Even if one member were to leave, it wouldn't make a significant difference, so he didn't add to his words.

"Even with a small number of members, if we clash with Tachun, we will also suffer considerable damage. But will Tachun be unscathed? If that happens, both Northwest and South Dong could be taken by other guilds. So, we will supply the amount that can be stayed in Korea for 15 days each month, according to the current number of Tachun guild members."

Although it was a condition that would cause complaints, the guild members did not argue with her. Kim Han-sol was the real power, after all.

Seo-won and Chahaya exchanged glances.

Chahaya's sword, wrapped in cosmos, hummed several times in his hand. A scholar who studied manseong species once gave an opinion on the sound Chahaya's sword made.

It was similar to converting the sound waves of a black hole in a galaxy into a sound we can hear, but it wasn't pleasant to listen to. It sounded like the eerie cry of a strange beast, making one's skin crawl.

"Isn't it wiser to receive Woo Gwang-seok peacefully rather than suffer losses by clashing with us? Don't you think so?"

Kim Han-sol pressed the point again. Just as Seo-won was about to speak,

<The mother toad mournfully cries for ‘Elephant Shrew Seo-won’!>

"!"

Seo-won suddenly turned his gaze to the tunnel. Chahaya's eyes also moved in the same direction, puzzled by Seo-won's strange behavior.

...Squeal! Squeal!

A scream from a beast, never heard before, emerged from the tunnel, breaking through the earthen mound. Thud, thud! The ground shook, and cracks began to appear in the earthen mound. No variant had ever caused such a loud noise in the tunnel before. Everyone took a battle stance.

Squeal! Squeal!

<Interpreting the toad's words. ‘Seo-won, I will turn you into a grilled skewer!’ The mother toad, having lost her child, has evolved into a 6th-stage variant salamander.>

"6th stage! Chahaya, 6th stage!"

Seo-won shouted spasmodically.

"Everyone, run!"

Bang! The solid earthen mound shattered into pieces. Intense heat poured out, and a spotted toad, enveloped in flames, emerged, hissing. The variant screamed and opened its mouth, spewing fire.

The lightning Chahaya released and the fire the toad spewed clashed in the air. A tremendous explosion shook the mountain, accompanied by a deafening roar.