Chapter 151
At the top floor of Tianjigak (天機閣), one of the three major Chinese guilds based in Beijing. Right in front of the private room of Tianjigak’s leader, Liao Mangding, who was ranked 93rd in the Hunter Ranking.
ㅡBANG, BANG, BANG!
When Yanan’s rough knocking rang out, a voice soon came from inside the private room.
ㅡWhat is it? Who is it?
“It’s me. Open the door.”
ㅡClick..!
Once Liao Mangding gave the go-ahead, Yanan immediately opened the private-room door and went in.
“Oh, Yanan. What’s going on?”
“Mangding. Didn’t I tell you before?”
“What are you talking about? And why the long face again?”
Yanan was the one who had entered Korea to meet Eve as part of the advance investigation team for the earlier Invaded Outpost matter. Through her Seongjinan-gye skill, she discovered the powerful force Eve would eventually reach, and even used it to foil the Chinese Hunter Management Association’s scheming.
“I told you not to lay a hand on that kid, Eve.”
“What’s with you? You’re suspicious of me again?”
“Don’t deny it. If it wasn’t you, who else would have done something like that?”
“What, worried they might’ve traced it back to you? Don’t worry, the guys I sent there have all already been taken care of.”
“I said that’s not the problem!”
When Yanan raised her voice, Liao Mangding’s face, which had worn a sly grin the whole time, stiffened. As if showing his displeasure, Liao Mangding snuffed out the cigar in his hand against the expensive wooden table and let out a long, smoke-filled sigh.
“That thing you told me about? That little brat Eve would become ridiculously strong? I heard that, so why would I do something like that?”
“What..?”
“What you saw was the future, though, right? Jingtongxuan gets killed without even being able to do anything? That monster? When would that be, anyway—right before he turns old and gets put in a coffin?”
“Liao Mangding..!”
“Sigh, fine. I admit I messed up. I should’ve done it a little earlier and made sure he died. Trying to send him off together with that Japanese bitch didn’t work out. Right?”
Ignoring Yanan’s nagging, Liao Mangding tilted his neck this way and that and leaned back in the wide leather chair.
“I heard from Haoran that even after you went to Korea, you were still grinning at those damn Koreans too, right? Is the makeup on that pretty face because of all that Korean stuff?”
“Don’t talk about things that have nothing to do with now. Leave picking fights with Korea, whether it’s the Cheonragwi Alliance or whatever, to someone else.”
“Why are you so scared? Fine, I’ll admit it. A hundred golems? That’s a little impressive. But they’re still just tin cans, right? Haven’t you seen Rui Ling? With her metal psychokinesis, even tens of tons are no problem. Even a few hundred tin cans wouldn’t do a thing to her.”
“Don’t you know that puppets controlled by a puppeteer can’t be manipulated with mana?”
“That’s only true for the ones that actually rank up. If they’re controlling a hundred at a time, do you think they’d fill every single one with mana? That’s just pouring money into empty cans.”
“Liao Mang-”
“Ah, enough. Go on, get out now. I don’t want to hear any more.”
Despite Liao Mangding’s restraint, Yanan, who was about to keep talking, finally walked out when he began drawing up mana.
ㅡClick-clack, click-clack....
‘Idiotic..!’
* * * * *
“Oh my god. What is all this?”
It was definitely a gate we bought just a few days ago, but they’d already built all sorts of things in front of it. They hadn’t started putting up proper buildings yet, but the ground had already been dug up like crazy. And there were lots of tents, so it looked like there were a lot of people around.
The location is Beehaksan in Paju, and because the route there is generally impassable for people, access is really poor here too. Normally, setting up a gate in a place like this and staying out front would be brutal because there’s nothing to eat or anything, but our golems don’t need food.
Still, because the gate is so large, they said it was a bit pricey. Was the last one 26.8 billion won? This one cost 43 billion won.
“43 billion won.... If I convert that to Robux.... Ehh, I have no idea.”
Since the gate is so large, there are more soldiers here too. Minyum and Bradamante were moved to this side as well, and the gate we own in southern Gyeonggi is apparently being well run by the captain golem that Minyum and Bradamante painstakingly selected.
“Once the work is completed, it’s expected to generate around 5 billion won in monthly profit.”
“Hwaaah!!”
No, so if you buy a gate and just camp out there, the salary is 5 billion a month? Then the annual salary is 60 billion..?! Why isn’t everyone else doing this? It’s basically a money-duplication button, isn’t it??
“Considering the soldiers’ average combat power and headcount, as well as labor costs and other expenses, it’s income that’s difficult to achieve by ordinary standards.”
“I-I see....”
So it’s possible because our golems don’t eat, don’t sleep, and work incredibly fast. Then other people wouldn’t be able to do it....
ㅡClank!
“Oh, Minyum! How’s your body? Feels like you’re about to fly away, right!”
ㅡClank clank!!
I don’t even remember how many upgrades Minyum has already had. But it’s still just a golem, so honestly I’m getting a bit competitive. How much mana stone do I have to feed it before it goes ta-da and transforms back into its original form??
Even Suri has now absorbed more mana stone and recovered its legs and everything, completely returning to its original form. It’s really strange.
“Hmm-mmm.... You’re not hiding mana stones somewhere, are you?”
ㅡClank?!
“No? Then fine.”
I still don’t really know what Minyum is thinking. It’s definitely the one I’ve been with the longest, aside from Daengdaeng, but it’s hard to get a read on it. Should I just throw in all the money I have and try transforming Minyum first..?
ㅡSqueak, kreeeek, kreeeeek....
But then seeing it moonwalk and do aerial somersaults in front of the soldiers makes me wonder if I really should. On top of that, it’s picked up another trick now. Believe it or not, it can breakdance.
ㅡKWAAAANG
But the jet boosters coming out of its legs dig into the ground. The soldiers are cheering, clapping, and jumping around like crazy.
“Sheesh, Minyum sure is energetic.”
“Princess!”
“Oh, Bradamante! And Suri too!”
ㅡKiiik
Bradamante is here for now, but after handing everything over to the ten cavalrymen here and assigning a squad leader, she’ll come to the EVE Project office in the city center. Since Bradamante is fast, she can get there first even if a gate pops up.
“Have you been well? How’s your body feeling?”
“I’ve been perfectly well! Thanks to the Princess, my body feels fine too!”
“Ehehe....”
Bradamante gets down from Suri’s back and gives me a big hug. For some reason, Bradamante is always warm when I hug her.
“Right, Bradamante, did you get a little stronger too?”
“Yes! I definitely think my output has increased! It’s absolutely the best, Princess!”
“Hehe, that’s a relief.”
Anyway, it looks like the new gate is running smoothly too. There’s really not much around here. It feels like a total mountain valley?
“Princess, let’s move. It seems preparations are complete.”
“Hah, okay. Bradamante! I’ll be going now!”
“Whiiine, it’s a shame I didn’t get to see you much!”
“Uh, I hope you’ll finish quickly and come to the city!!”
“Yes!! I definitely will!!”
* * * * *
“Wow, you prepared a lot more than I expected..?”
“That’s right. Since the archery corps required very few materials.”
“Kahah! This much is a piece of cake!”
“Hee.”
The materials have been prepared inside the gate. They were neatly laid out across the wide grassy field at regular intervals, but now that it’s getting more attention, someone might see them, so Ophelia said we’d make them inside the gate.
Calling them an archery corps is one thing, but the vibe is more like an assassin unit, isn’t it? Among the materials we’d received from Crown Guard last time, there was something like an invisibility cloak....
We still can’t mass-produce it properly, so we can’t use it yet. It needs a research lab rather than a forge, so we’re planning to research and make it in an underground lab we’ll dig out next to the forge.
So for now, there’s bowstring metal, mass-produced mana detectors from Oseong Group, and some sound-wave analysis equipment? A few things like that. And the lightweight metal used to make the heavy infantry takes 40 kilograms per unit. It also uses 360 grams of mana stone, so it’ll be as powerful as the upgraded soldiers.
“Princess~ Please come here~”
“Ah, yes....”
Whenever Atalante sees me, she starts squishing me all over the place. Mostly my cheeks and belly. Did I maybe gain weight..? When Grandpa Galahad threw me, I still flew just as high.
“But Atalante, I have something I’m curious about.”
“Yes? What is it, Princess?”
“Why do you shoot a gun instead of a bow, Atalante?”
“A gun is more convenient, isn’t it? Though if I want to, I can use both.”
“W-Well, that’s true.”
When Atalante was made, she definitely used a huge gun. The strange thing was that when she fired it, it made no sound at all. She really gave off an assassin vibe.
“Since modern knowledge seems to have been incorporated, it looks like her long-range weapon manifested as a gun.”
“I see.... Is that even okay..?”
Then she’s a gun corps leader, not an archery corps leader, right? But she also said she could turn the gun into a bow and showed me.
“Oooh.... It’s huge. But that would be a little inconvenient, wouldn’t it?”
The bow is enormous, so it seems like it’d be inconvenient when going out on an assassination mission. Not that I’m saying we’re going to assassinate anyone....
“Because a bow’s power changes depending on the full-draw distance. Originally it was like this....”
“Oh, my god.”
Atalante even showed me a strange trick. She stood on her hands and used her legs to pull the bow apart. But her legs were spread so wide that it was a little hard to look at.
‘It’s kind of embarrassing to look at....’
But anyway, it’s okay that she can use a bow well too. Now it’s time to make the archery corps under Atalante.
“We prepared 50 sets of materials in total.”
“That’s a lot. You’re making a lot from the start?”
“I thought we’d need a large number of people if we wanted a wide range of activity within the city.”
“The low material cost played a part too!”
“I see..! Got it! I’ll do it!”
As always, creating new soldiers is a task that takes quite a bit of mana. Maintaining them afterward is fine, though....
“Hyah!! Answer the princess’s summons!!”
ㅡFlaaash..!!
The blue mana flowing from my fingertips swallowed up all 50 sets of materials in an instant. They all clumped into little round shapes, bobbing lightly in the air....
ㅡFLASH!!
“Ha! Cover your eyes!”
Now I’ve become a veteran princess who doesn’t get fooled by flashes like this anymore. I covered my eyes with my hand and blocked the flash, and then the usual clank sound....
“Huh?”
“Uh, eeh..?”
“You’ve successfully created a golem.”
Wait, hold on. Something about this is weird.
“It, it’s a girl..?”
“It’s a female type. It seems it was made in a form that’s easier to move through narrow passages.”
“I-Is that so..?”
It’s a first for me. A girl golem..? A female-type golem..? Anyway, something like that. Unlike the other soldiers, they moved without making a single clanking sound, and walked so lightly that they gathered in front of me in a swish.
“Wow.... That’s amazing....”
They don’t make a sound at all when they move. And there’s something like ears attached to their heads, and according to Ophelia, it looks like sound-wave analysis equipment manifested.
“Everyone, welcome! We’ll be with Atalante in the city center, and when a gate pops up, we’ll smash it all to pieces! Got it!!”
ㅡNod nod
This feeling of emptiness because there’s no sound.... Still, it’d be a bit weird if they made creaking noises, right?
“Thank you for your hard work, Princess.”
“Ehehe....”
“You worked hard too, Princess. As a reward, shall I give you a kiss?”
“Atalante. That’s not allowed.”
“Such a shame~”
Hm, ah. It keeps bothering me.
‘Why does a golem have boobs..?’