Chapter 228: Northern Walls (4)
mrlxAt the center of the city was a temporary accommodation constructed thanks to the cooperation of 30 mages, where the members of Korin Guardians were staying.uHAv76f
bvfpXIt was finally time for a little break and a meal after a long and arduous day of hard work. Enjoying the high-class tea purchased from the capital, Alicia was babbling about what she experienced during the day.CXl
UQu3“The planks that were placed on the walls suddenly started falling down. It almost ended up hurting a bunch of people but—”LKOKOC
uQQQe8She was essentially bragging about how she saved a bunch of people that were in danger. The person sitting on the other side of the table was Marie, who was nibbling on boiled potatoes with her eyes blankly gazing at the rippling surface of her tea cup.aK0
XoMEuGThe ripple on the surface of the tea, by the way, was due to her quivering hands.XaKU
iUY“Marie-sunbae?”ElvcAC
WFVwNFp“…”XpH
WWcfMrNoticing that she wasn’t really focused on the conversation, Alicia found it strange and asked for her attention, since she was usually the nice kind of person who would say, ‘I see!’ and ‘Well done!’ to commend her for her actions.DKTiAe
89UU“Sunbae? Sunbae!”ehbXneU
KSvTuAk“H, huh? Huh?!”wb1Gy
LwUMMarie woke up from her stupor with a flinch.bmA
Gr2o“Are you okay?” Alicia worriedly asked. “You seem out of it today.”daxA
GNyjM“Y, yeah… A, actually…”h7r
msZjHer mind was preoccupied by the conversation between Hua Ran and Josephine that she overheard from the side.CIh
HIKlaI‘Pregnant? Hua Ran? There’s no way. I must have misheard it.’kXRKsbw
nrGjIt was that Hua Ran we were talking about. It was a different story for Ran, but Hua? Really?jX5B
hbi8XPIt had to be a misunderstanding. Marie constantly told herself that she must have heard it wrong.7vaPTf
lplODDBIt was then.ZNYjns
m832oKI– Creak!MB3nMS
J0L9mIThey turned towards the entrance and found Hua Ran walking in with an indifferent look on her face.9yh
eoUReD“Hua Ran-ssi! Are you done with your night shift?” Alicia asked.N3Idr
JhRUNW“Un.”Di9FlT
7AZqhHua gave the usual curt response, oblivious to Marie staring deeply at her with a gulp.FYg79
ZPDP“Did you eat already?” Hua Ran asked.9rI8Id
MbA“Yes. There is a set time when dinner is served so we ended up eating ahead of time.”ibG
oh8aN“Okay. I’m just going to sleep… Actually.”dFz
WUXShe suddenly stopped her feet and changed her mind, which was a rare thing for her to do.BLVZ5Yy
IWGag“Are there… beans?”J56Gg
rgx“W, why beans?”RGyza
kP64Nvh“I heard it’s good for the baby… I mean, body.”mPMvZ
sshtssr“…!”3yEskl
mil77dEW, what did I hear just then? Marie was doubting her ears, refusing to believe what she heard, when something dropped on the ground with a bump.cmjHN
3C1g5A cylindrical container was rolling towards them.t9IPF6j
FjhyKwN“Hua Ran-ssi. You dropped somethi—”cnk1D
LyPmfgAlicia picked it up and was in the middle of reminding Hua Ran but… she couldn’t help but pause after realizing what it was.orsLlx
iPr0g8O“Hnn? Baby milk?”wHO3l
6uGlKwaSwallowing the burning question of ‘Why’, Alicia threw a glance at Hua Ran. She calmed herself down as much as possible before asking the inevitable question.McAnIsg
MzS“Umm… Hua Ran-ssi? What is this?”27T5FJ
Kdlg7uo“Baby milk dispenser. I bought it nearby.”5TDy
3EuI“Uhh… Was there a baby among the orphans?”S8o8O
QGCPDq“No?”MDwqGx2
7ugkyCThen why…?zrYapo
Syd3Before Alicia could ask that question, Hua walked towards Marie, who was trembling like there was no tomorrow.Oix
z5XI6“Marie.”UgYaq
dxq“Y, yeah?”GIj9C
bTvX3“Do you have breast milk?”Y40
TN7ryQo“Huh?”hK3KJ
ckEGUBoth Alicia and Marie were lost for words from that sudden and completely unexpected question.58zc
MQZJM“W, why are you asking that?”su4V7
k9C5GJIt was a blunder. She was supposed to reply, ‘No’, but the sudden question added to the blocks of doubt made her inquire the reason instead.NNw
JyA“…I heard breast milk was better than powder milk. You look like you have a lot of milk.”SHinv
SN9rE9R“H, huh? Huh? Like…”3x6wwD
tpt7RESo why do you need it? Why!?zDBQgqi
k7XHua mumbled, ‘Is there none in there?’ before turning around and walking away.zk4Z
rnTk3“Umm… uhh…”O2GgG
x3IIAt this point, even Alicia was able to tell what was going on.AEeP
umm…3uycp
7FuWchk…q4nC8a
V1LMThe living room without Hua Ran remained silent for a very long time, with two people glancing at one another the whole time.9Vqa2
U8Z****Og2tj
Di5“Fuu~. Done on this end.”Y92F4TX
wlKErin Danua was a person with incomparable loftiness, perseverance and diligence.iOEo61f
M02jrrHEver since her arrival at the city, she had been zealously engraving runes all over the walls without taking a single rest. In total, they amounted to more than a hundred thousand runes.rB5
Q3OpzU“I want to see Korin~”O8svjI
mC3EvShe had been so busy these past few days that she hadn’t been able to see Korin. Korin and herself were the only rune mages in the entire city, and Korin was busy keeping the Sun up whilst dealing with the nearby demonic beasts, so Erin had to engrave the runes in his stead in preparation for the upcoming monster waves.ypw
SXjLuJ‘It’s time for the valkyries to arrive as well.’3bSFlw
BmnOywdThe most ideal turn of events would be Erin coming to contact with them before anything else. A confrontation between the anti-Tates tribes of the Northern Kingdom and the kingdom’s army had to be kept at a minimum casualty.KJd2Ym
NPemJ“Clara. We are done here. Can you teleport me to the other side?”Kjf1p
5Fk“…”eDWs
uRoo0py“Clara?”YfwaI
Z4C8o“Ah… yes! W, what was that again?”o9QW
EKZErin stopped for a while, upon seeing that Josephine was a bit all over the place.Pvf
1YyH“Is something wrong?” she asked.2DtX
i97Mkb“N… No! Nothing!”YaFqU4n
YGkHer actions were much more exaggerated than usual. As a 100-year-long acquaintance, Erin was able to see through that disparity in an instant.JRp9l
Ai3FgyK“Something did happen, huh.”Z11V
Ypfz6“Ugh…”zKwtXn
ZwnUSimilarly, Josephine knew that she wouldn’t be able to deceive her. Seeing the warm and benevolent light in her eyes, Josephine felt her heart ache for some reason.QKlfaN
3eRRsmp“Tell me. I might be able to help you.”JwC
45xjAB‘No… I don’t think you should know about it though…’ Josephine swallowed those words back in.v5LDG
Prd“Uhh…” she replied. “I’m pondering whether I should act as your friend… or as an educator…”8wNB
yF6As someone who hoped for the best of Erin’s love, Josephine wanted to share the information as quickly as possible, but at the same time, she was Korin and Hua Ran’s teacher. It felt like it would be going against her moral standards to talk about their sensitive relationship without their consent.0Z5z6hJ
Cnrc“That is an interesting thing to be troubled about. Go with the latter,” Erin suggested.8qEAXk
3HrhQjz“Uhh… Is that okay?”PNW2p
JHZ“Of course. We are the teachers of those children. We have the duty to choose what is best for them.”2PY
01vLK4She said that with such a benevolent smile on her face that it was painful for Josephine.fXAhcnI
oKmAeEX****1IA3xS
pUpThe northern regions of the current kingdom, was originally an uninhabited land.pcYVz
fJJVThe lands were full of gravel, making it impossible to farm, and there was also the constant downpour of barbarians and demons.v3l3
Denxg3HIt was none other than the El Rath Kingdom, which forced its inhabitants to those harsh, under-developed lands of the north. They were essentially serving the role of a meat shield, staying there for the safety of the entire kingdom.Kk6wH
DPs8However, despite the amount of money and manpower they were willing to put in, conquering the north was not an easy feat.7mFSNEa
ISuMIn the end, the barbarians even formed a union called the ‘Northern Kingdom’ to stand up against them, and after several failed attempts and fruitless ventures, the El Rath Kingdom soon gave up after building the ‘great wall’.TgycF24
5LWubWThe kingdom neglected the north, which eventually gave birth to more demons.qgti
Un77bSkThe Frost Walker.43k
UYW8Talons of Northern Wind.tcnl
OLXNThe Great Bear.IjHbK5
GQDThose three were the infamous demonic beasts residing in the north of the great wall.NsBwnDX
v8gAlthough Beyon had been drinking his days away in these remote lands of the harsh winter, he had long heard of how monstrous the so-called 3 great demons were. One of his memories of them was based on that one time when he witnessed one of them from a distance in the middle of a rare expedition to a nearby nest of demons.LZs
aKo7kO– KUWOOOOOOOOO—!jr5TaHE
8KBwg13[B, Boss. It’s here! That’s the Frost Walker!]8c8REb
vqdT[We have to run!]OWf0aj3
DitBack then, Beyon had been fully confident that he could slice any of the three demons to pieces the moment he saw them.xSReQ
9CnJHowever, the moment he faced them in real life, he realized how stupid he had been.vZN
q9gBThe Frost Walker was a real monster.6GTtEre
d6IHAXNTelling himself that, he ordered his group a full retreat without even thinking of fighting it.ENvQf
OnJ– KUWOOOOOOOO!PjkX
0a8JBTAnd yet that monster – one of those horrifying 3 great demons…O09OQS
xssM“Vanguards, hold your ground. Mages, attack one group at a time.”XSvk
YYKE“Don’t push yourselves! You can fall back if you don’t think you can take it!”Sr22
FeuhvooIt was being hunted.FqN
zFVPE8The hunter was being hunted one-sidedly before the overwhelming might of the guardians.iJ6oE
OlkoS“There’s nothing they can do before a number’s game.”Ilwt
zCMEven the War Mammoth, Frost Walker, which trampled on everything with each of its steps—J3G
rFIThe Talons of Northern Wind, which camouflaged in the snowy lands with its white fur, to hunt humans—2i5ENY
PdaTfmI“GUWOOOO…!”NIxzz1
DzQ8M“Sir Korin! Be carefu—”Is2Ltm
64uJGrG– Kwakk!qbiS
rGJ“UWOO?”3grx0pH
5TlAnd even the Great Bear, which could shred half-giants to pieces with its overwhelming strength…I838G
Vgi“I need your hide, so I’ll be gentle. Don’t worry.”ZtnE92q
FTp“UWO?”GoK
KmY– Kaduk!0G2do
sNZItThe monsters, who had been protecting their territories with full confidence in their own might, were crumbling down one by one before the true display of power.HCmr
NsVDA****8KOpD
RWrThe hunt of named demonic beasts around the walls ended without an issue.NYA1
uXtCGGnThe three named demonic beasts of the north, that were supposed to wreak havoc in the kingdom along with the monster wave, were a tough foe to beat even with a maxed out party.NdbO
X2HCOVHowever, they still stood no chance before hundreds of knights and legions of mages.ehbKFq
f06ry“With that, we’re done dealing with all the dangerous ones.”nHFWC
NZ1QAgvThe white snowy plains were filled with the dead bodies of the monsters. Their innards were frozen and the stinky scent of fresh blood was the only remaining sign that they had been alive just moments ago.3Hjq
B5rR[Battlefront Flag Bearer]Jon
vyi5QR– You are the symbol of the battlefield. You are the brightest flag bearer of every war, and a central figure that must not fall.rAOCg
q8BvnH– You will be at the center of attention during a war. Your stats will change depending on your ally’s faith.iIA
v9Jc– All your allies will become psychologically anxious if you fall.voq
25giDE6※ You have reached 60% of Attention. All of your stats have increased by 20%.jtMEybK
EtVSFRight. It was about time for this passive skill to finally get to work.OJk
vVXThis was one of the reasons why I was leading the monster hunt myself. Becoming the center of attention in a battlefield, the player would shoulder the hope and admiration of the ones behind them to become stronger.ZvY5
vWByRR1That was the nature of the passive ability, [Battlefront Flag Bearer], and was one of the top passive skills aside from [Precepts], which wasn’t a part of the game.fE1Z0
0qnztD‘I’ll be getting stronger the more active a role I play in a battlefield.’tszTPRi
pJmBeating the Great Bear 1-on-1 in a battle of pure strength increased the Attention gauge by 20%. This was probably the reason why Park Sihu had intentionally done those eye-catching actions in large-scale battles.IrRWj2
AuYCrLA“Boss. Can I ask a question,” asked Dorron after walking up. It was obvious what he was going to ask so I replied without even waiting for it.tktF
we9“Cut out the hide and share it among everyone to weather the cold. You can make sure it’s split up equally.”7VYxrH
lPE2“I love how you treat the lower-ones like us so well, Boss.”0pXuq0
6Nkf“Leave the by-products from the Great Bear and the Talons of Northern Winter. I need them for something.”ODjUSd
DWE“What about the War Mammoth, Frost Walker?”INmJ
Zox9GOR“Deal with it however you want.”qAL8c8
HrTThere were over 3,000 demons that we hunted today. Sharing them up equally would amount to quite a lot of profit for everyone.5ddz
sqDkThey had to make use of this time well, because this was the only time we could spend gathering up the remains of the monsters. We won’t even be able to leave the gates once the monster wave actually begun.N5Ss6C3
cJKnn7F“You can head back first, Boss. We’ll take care of the rest.”jqzd
kuWxMEnjoying the special right of a higher-up, I left the chores to everyone else and headed back to the city.yWsJ6
0lwL“Fuu~. Quite exhausting.”rDp9G
nEeMn3wIt has been a week since I’ve held the Sun up in the air, and I even had to go hunt demonic beasts. However, it was all worthwhile because all that was left was to meet the valkyries. I decided to take a rest until then.lIaLZ
A42lII limped my way back to our accommodation, and laid down on the tough wooden bed in my room.Hg3c
Bi67“…”xIz
7eMxgLUDespite it being not even remotely close in terms of comfort to the elegant bed we had back in the office… I fell asleep straight away.66NZW5
cOAgXlVI entered a very deep sleep.lDfNSS
IOuXG****xgUHZ
yeKThese past few days, Hua and Ran learned everything about raising a baby under Josephine.G3y
MHXVrThey bought toys that the baby would use to play as well as food that was easy to digest.k3uG
Sw6Apparently, it seemed that breast milk was better than powdered milk. They could find a nanny but the best would be the mother breast-feeding the baby.reP13
N33XRBut there was a problem.WvDljD
Z3mmt[Would there be enough milk coming out from our breasts?]UUT3h
IbDrbThe two of them were concerned whether their breasts would be sufficient enough to feed a baby.zUHI
uSKY6qCompared to the peers of her age, it wasn’t like Hua Ran was incredibly slow in growth or anything, but the only comparable people she had near her were Marie and Alicia.ohwiM
lQq0Q3Especially Marie’s breasts were so big that it sometimes made her wonder whether those were that of a human or a cow, so it certainly wasn’t a healthy comparison for her.poEpYok
UIMYThe two had a vague assumption that bigger breasts would equal more milk.3nz7u1
4Mae[We are perfectly prepared. Tonight is the night.]hh18B4D
b858KVh“Un.”AQM0fR
v0LThey were ready to raise a baby – all they needed to do now was have one. Who could have guessed that there were storks in this area?1Ly
2rNHThese past few days, Hua Ran was able to confirm that neither Marie nor Alicia had noticed the existence of storks.49YY7t
08b4x5XThey were fools. They were wasting this perfect opportunity.sdi
EexHua and Ran scoffed internally at their love rivals, who didn’t even know about the storks in this area that would be carrying the babies to them.Oa8
SKOUMA– Creak!8XF
cjSoKShe walked up the stairs in large strides.Ikhk
ymVRHua Ran had spent several nights with Korin hand-in-hand already. Korin should know what that meant, so he shouldn’t be surprised by it either.ICQLLAv
c8MxuTonight; in this city, often visited by storks…KPTeF
7KvL[We will hold his hands to sleep.]cSjmGq
ca60HG“Un.”bZ4Psd8
HMy3b1uAfter spending the night like that… a stork will surely be bringing them a beautiful baby.hJHtK9z
Uv7re– Click!WORb9J
ZvScxNormally, Hua Ran would have knocked on the door, but she was slightly more nervous today and opened the door abruptly without even a knock.TKu
iDBqpR2“Korin. Today, can we also—”Ii3x
w3jNCj1The moment she entered the room, she found a brown-haired girl trying to squeeze her way in through the window…ERN
JYf“…Woof?”FNDA
JxnAnd inside the room was a large red dog carrying the sleeping Korin on its shoulders, as well as a girl with water-colored hair, frozen stiff on the spot with her eyes wide open.9VuLvZ
7Lbr“…”nzE3R5s
KJ7x“…”pX3FI
qCczKR“…”kp2AbYA
kEBNtIn the middle of the night.H2fN
Ko7fWith everyone else asleep.fbgCgO
8B6jThe three criminals trespassing the room of a single man awkwardly stared at each other in silence.DkyMcZU
MuOWD8“Woof.”7luIBOq
sN3ZlKDoggo summed up what was happening in one simple sentence.zw2dpZ
T3aWhat a clown fiesta.fovD
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