Chapter 74: Naga Queen (1)
The 3rd floor of the Yugang building.
In reality, it was a place that a plastic surgery clinic had rented.
However, Kang-jun’s resources were being used to make it a rest area in Hwanmong.
Kang-jun had taken a quick look at the rest area when it was stage one. At the time, it had only been filled with chairs and beds. When sitting down or sleeping, fatigue would be released and health restored.
However, now it was a stage three rest area.
As soon as he entered the 3rd floor, he saw a spacious area.
In the centre, there was a fountain. There were different shaped houses on the outskirts. Various trees and flowers were arranged in a harmonious manner.
It was a picturesque and peaceful scene.
“What is going on?”
Kang-jun’s eyes widened with surprise. Keirun just smiled.
"The rest area expanded after reaching stage three.”
That was it. Space expansion wasn’t a special thing here. The building itself was similar in shape, but the height and area within was completely different compared to reality. If that wasn't the case, it would have been impossible for a huge ogre to move indoors.
Yet the rest area here was connected to a completely different space.
"Then I guess the recovery effect of the rest area should have increased.”
“Yes. Once allies are within a certain radius, health recovery for them will increase, so it is very advantageous when defending.”
If it meant that any injuries received within a certain radius of the rest area would be recovered from quickly, then as Keirun said, his troops would be able to exert more force against any enemy attacks.
Apart from the effects of the rest area, there were more amazing things.
"There are houses, restaurants, cafes, bars, a billiard room and various facilities. This will continue to increase in the future.”
Cafes and bars? Billiard room?
The facilities were offered for free to anyone who visited the rest area.
Kang-jun looked around the cafe.
There were menu boards with the name of sweets, cakes and various teas. There were spacious tables and chairs. Music was playing smoothly.
“Haha! Welcome. Here, we have warm tea, cakes and sweets.”
By the way, the cafe employee was a human youth.
Kang-jun had seen him somewhere. He had been a drunk young man and Kang-jun had absorbed his energy.
“Why is he working at a cafe?”
Rodiam was the one who replied.
"He is a worker from the workshop, ong. He has been educated, ong.”
“Really?”
As Kang-jun’s level increased, Soul Exploitation, which could be called a sovereign exclusive skill, also increased.
In the past, only those defeated in the battle field or punishment field would be summoned. Now, every person Kang-jun absorbed energy from would be targets.
Of course, they were only summoned to Hwanmong when asleep and their memories of this place would disappear once the dream ended. However, their memories would come back the next time they were summoned.
Anyway, he left the matter of the workers to Rodiam, so Kang-jun decided not to worry about it anymore. Rodiam continued to place workers in the bars and restaurants.
However, when he entered the billiard room, there were two people, whom Kang-jun knew, playing billiards.
They were Cho Sang-jin and Hwang Seong-gil. They were the first two people summoned to work.
"What are those people doing?”
"They were rewarded with a vacation.”
"Rewarded with a vacation?”
"Cho Sang-jin mined 30 Essence of Earth in the last seven days and Hwang Seong-gil found an Aok Key, so I gave him a month off.”
Those who received rewards had the privilege of playing in the rest area when summoned.
"By the way, what is the Aok Key that he is given a month’s holiday?”
Keirun then replied,
"This was available after Lord appeared on the red moon battlefield.”
Keirun handed Kang-jun a key that shone with a white light.
[Aok Key]
-Rating: Legend
-Can open the space prison.
-It is possible to use it three times.
"Aok refers to the space prison. If you have the Aok Key, you can open the door of the space prison and release the prisoners inside it.”
Keirun’s eyes flashed as he spoke.
"Of course, there are some useless existences in Aok. In some cases, the prisoner has already died and there are only the remains left. However, sometimes a person with great abilities will be alive. Lord has a lot of charisma, so it won’t be hard for you to gain their loyalty.”
That was it. There was a chance he could obtain good talent.
"By the way, where is the Aok prison?”
"Aok can exist anywhere but they are hard to find. Coincidences have to overlap. However, the probability of it appearing on the red moon battlefield is quite high. The Second Demon King invaded Earth Hwanmong, so the Aoks belonging to him would be present on the red moon battlefield.”
The Second Demon King had wreaked havoc across whole planets, so many people had become his prisoners.
"Then how can I find an Aok?”
"The Aok Key will give off a special response when an Aok is near.”
"I see.”
Kang-jun nodded. It made sense why Hwang Seong-gil received a one month vacation.
On the other hand, Cho Sang-jin and Hwang Seong-gil were surprised to see Kang-jun.
Unlike reality, Kang-jun was wearing black armour, so they didn’t recognize him at first. However, they realized it was him due to his silver hair.
“Ah, you?”
"Heok! Why are you here?”
They had never met the lord of this mysterious base. Kang-jun had always been too busy to go to the mine. In the meantime, only Rodiam oversaw them, although they did see Keirun and Kajel at the rest area.
However, blood drained from their faces when they saw Kang-jun. To them, Kang-jun was scarier.
Then Rodiam said to them.
"Say hello. This is your lord.”
Cho Sang-jin and Huang Seong-gil were amazed but not surprised. They knew that Kang-jun had a great presence but they didn’t know that he would their lord in Hwanmong.
Kang-jun just smiled.
“I’m glad to hear you’ve been working hard. I look forward to your work in the future.”
“Yes, Lord!”
“Thank you, Lord.”
Hwang Seong-gil’s expression brightened at Kang-jun’s encouragement. Keirun smiled.
"The billiard room was a suggestion and the response has been pretty good. You should also visit for a while when your thoughts are complicated, haha.”
That was why a billiard room had been created. Additionally, Keirun also seemed to be interested in billiards.
“I am also working on a suggestion for a PC room. There were also suggestions for room salons and gambling rooms but they are decadent, so they have been put on hold. We are actively considering a karaoke room and sauna. Additionally, we plan to increase the number of restaurants and create a wide variety of facilities.”
Kang-jun nodded.
"I look forward to it. I’ve seen the rest area well, so where is the next place?”
"There is a workshop in the basement.”
Keirun guided Kang-jun to the basement of the Yugang building.
When he opened the door of the basement, a large space appeared.
This was also an extension caused by the third stage.
In the centre was a large, cylindrical building and there were ten caves on the outskirts. There were workers bringing things back and forth between the central building and the caves.
They were blue coins. Each coin was one node.
Once they found one, they rested for a little bit before going back to work.
Their method of working varied.
Nodes were mined from the mine, found in the grass like picking herbs or caught by a fishing rod. Of course, the mines, lakes, and meadows were found by Rodiam in Kang-jun’s occupied territories.
"The caves are connected to mines, lakes and grass.”
The area chosen was up to the workers. Fishing was the hardest action but some people liked it.
Usually, they got nodes but there was a small chance to obtain a rare item. Essences of various attributes or items, such as the Aok Key, could be found if they were lucky like Hwang Seong-gil.
The workers could receive vacations for finding rare items. The higher the level of the work was, the more chances there were of finding rare items.
Especially in the case of the mines as it was the hottest place.
[The possibility of finding rare items from the mines will increase.]
One of the rewards Kang-jun had received from the evaluation had caused havoc.
It wasn’t irrelevant that Hwang Seong-gil found the Aok Key. He could expect to see rarer items coming from the mine in the future.
Kang-jun continued on by visiting the barracks.
There were seven stage four barracks. Each barrack contained 50 people and he had 350 troops.
There were 20 golem ratigers.
280 giant ratian warriors.
50 giant dark wolves.
After he finished patrolling the occupied territory, Kang-jun suddenly asked Kajel,
"Have you heard of a magic tower?”
He could summon vampire mages if he had a magic tower. Kajel grinned and nodded.
"I know of a magic tower. It can be constructed on the rooftop of the Dafeng building. If you give me three Essence of Darkness, I will start working immediately.”
Kang-jun was delighted. It was fortunate the magic tower could be built on the roof of the Defeng building he owned.
Keirun also welcomed it.
"It will be nice to push forward with that. If we can summon vampire mages, our military will be twice as powerful. After building the magic tower, I will raise the barrack level and summon the vampire mages.”
Kang-jun just smiled.
"It is a good idea. Do it immediately."
By the time the distribution of resources was completed, a messenger scroll had come from Heksia.
It was a message to come to the Army Headquarters immediately.
After a while, Kang-jun entered the Army Headquarters. Heksia looked somewhat tired.
“I’m here to see the Commander.”
"Come in, Lucan."
There were already 10 sovereigns waiting. After waiting for a while, the other sovereigns arrived.
"Since you are all here, I will explain today’s mission.”
A total of 38 sovereigns had returned and there were two empty spots.
"The naga queen has showed up. So today, our army will cooperate with the 438th Army.
A combined operation. It meant that two commanders would participate in the operation at the same time.
Although Kang-jun had acted as reinforcement, this was his first operation with another army.
‘The naga queen must be pretty strong.’
However, why hadn’t two of the sovereigns shown up?
‘Perhaps?’
Kang-jun suddenly thought of one thing but Heksia talked about it first.
"There is one thing I have to tell you before you go. The Second Demon King’s situation has become poisonous lately. So, he is attacking reality as much as possible. That’s why 12 sovereigns died this time.”
In the end, the reason for the two empty spots was what Kang-jun had expected.
They had died. Two of the sovereigns in the 439th Army had been killed in the Geumho-dong incident.
Nevertheless, the other sovereigns didn’t show any signs of agitation. It was because they already knew about it through the news in reality.
In fact, they were delighted that other sovereigns had died. In particular, there was a dark smile on Hardis’ face.
Heksia continued speaking.
“Therefore, be careful not to die, especially in reality where resurrection is impossible.”
There was a cold smile on her face.
"I don’t know what to expect in the future. I don't know and you don’t know either. Regardless of the reason, the dead are losers. There are no excuses in hell."
No matter the reason, the dead sovereigns were losers.
That’s right.
Now wasn’t the time to rejoice over the death of other sovereigns.
They had to keep this in mind.
Chuuuot!
A portal was immediately created through magic and Heksia entered first, followed by the 38 sovereigns.
After a while, the battlefield appeared.
"I couldn’t install a resurrection gem due to the naga queen’s interference. Therefore, you will be returned to Army Headquarters once you die.”
Heksia announced. The expressions of the sovereigns belonging to both armies stiffened.
Then Grania spoke.
"As you know, the success of this battle depends on the destruction of the Jewel of Darkness in that fortress. It is difficult, so 300 achievement points will be awarded to the one who destroys the Jewel of Darkness! Additionally, the top five sovereigns who take care of the most nagas will be given 100 achievement points.”
Heksia nodded and said,
"Of course, all these achievements can only be received after the naga queen is killed. It is useless if you die before the naga queen is killed. Those who survive until the end will be given 50 achievement points.”
The eyes of the sovereigns lit up.
After receiving the periodic evaluation, they realized the power of one achievement point.
There were many who aimed for the 100 points for killing nagas rather than the 300 points for the Jewel of Darkness. If they survived, it would be a combined total of 150 points. That alone was quite a feat.
The total sovereign of the 438th Army, Radel, grasped his fist and made up his mind.
'Last time, I was robbed by Lucan but this time I will destroy the Jewel of Darkness.’
Additionally, Sovereign Zenith was also aiming for the Jewel of Darkness.
He knew it would be wiser to kill many of nagas to gain 100 points. He was confident that with his skills, he would be among the top five. However, it was unacceptable for him to give up the Jewel of Darkness and the 300 achievement points.
‘Oduk! Today, I absolutely must do it. I will surely destroy the Jewel of Darkness.’
Zenith was only thinking about the Jewel of Darkness.
Of course, Kang-jun was also aiming at the Jewel of Darkness.
While three sovereigns were aiming for the Jewel of Darkness, the rest just wanted to get within the top five.
Particularly, Avia decided to act in a group with her allies Haniel, Rosina, Caper and Brio.
Similarly, other sovereigns also decided to act in parties.
It was the same for Hardis and his allied sovereigns. He picked the four strongest ones. He originally tried to include Zenith but Zenith refused.
‘Zenith’s greed is futile. He won’t be able to beat the Jewel of Darkness.’
However, it didn’t matter. Right now, survival was his first priority.
Those who died or fell behind would be abandoned by the alliance. On the red moon battlefield, they could be beaten at any time.
It was at that time.
Woorururu!
"The terrified beggars of Hwanmong gathered here.”
A thunderous sound was heard from the sky and thunderbolts started to occur.
Flash! Jijijik!
Kwa kwang! Kwarururung! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
There was a deafening sound and blue flashes of light twisted together everywhere.