The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 128

"I've never seen such a unique NPC before!"

Upon returning to the underground cabin, Avantgarde expressed interest in Aysis.

Perhaps it was because she was such a unique character that he was curious about her.

However, if he had followed Adventurer A's strategy guide, he wouldn't have had the chance to meet her in the Raven Kingdom.

"How's the preparation going?"

"It's progressing well. The dwarves are so enthusiastic that it's hard to keep up just by watching."

Avantgarde focused on capturing the dwarves' preparation process with a camera.

Considering that one of the main objectives of the Ifrit episode was to restore their status, it was a good choice.

"Wow, this is such a unique underground building! Can I go down and take a look...?"

The scientist started to look around, full of curiosity.

Hanbit grabbed Aysis by the collar as she was about to go down the stairs.

"You need to be interrogated first."

"Oh, interrogation? Let's just get it over with! Shall we do it here?"

"Let's go over there."

Hanbit took the enthusiastic scientist to a room in the corner of the passageway.

She sat Aysis down on a chair and stood in front of her with Jinuk.

"After the interrogation is over, will you show me the power of the spirit again?"

Aysis blinked her eyes, swinging her legs.

Since that was the original plan, Hanbit nodded.

"I'll show you later, so just answer honestly. First, tell me your affiliation."

"As promised! So, my affiliation... should I say I'm a scientist working under the 8th Bishop? I kept asking him to let me do spirit research, but he kept refusing. I was so desperate..."

-Achanho ON (TL/N:A term often used in online communities, meaning someone who is very enthusiastic about something)

-She talks a lot. lol

-But she's cute, right?

-Noisy Aysis VS Silent Taeyul Manager

-Construction site noise would be a landslide victory for the former.

Her answers quickly turned into a complaint about her grievances.

Hanbit cut her off and asked again, "That's enough. Is there anything else you were ordered to do?"

"Create nests using several vertical caves around Ifrit. Attack the city with enhanced monsters and report the results. Those were the only two things. He hardly ever talked to me about anything else."

Aysis added that she only met the bishop very occasionally.

Even then, their conversations were only about research and monsters.

"Several vertical caves? There are more places like that?"

Jinuk's eyes widened in surprise.

If there were more places like that, it was a truly desperate situation.

Even if they called for reinforcements somewhere, only a tragic ending could be imagined.

Realizing his anxiety, Aysis shrugged and said, "The spaces are like that, but the contents are different. The previous two waves were the result of releasing some of the contents from there."

"The monsters you said didn't meet the criteria?"

"Yes. But I was still somewhat concerned about the second wave. You froze them all solid in one go, though."

Aysis recreated the situation with her hands moving here and there.

Seeing her, Jinuk unfolded the map he had brought and said, "We need to check the starting point of the third wave. Point it out."

"Hmm, will that be meaningful?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Look closely."

Leaning forward, Aysis stretched out her arm and pointed to the very edge of the forest south of Ifrit.

Then she drew a semicircle along the boundary and went all the way up.

The place where her finger stopped was the end of the northern forest.

"This is the range for the third wave."

“……?”

Jinuk froze at the casual explanation.

The area she indicated was almost the entire forest.

If what she said was true, it was virtually random.

"You mean this is all the range? Are you serious? The monsters are coming out of those vertical caves we saw."

"The walls of those caves are easily collapsible. Since they are connected to the ground of each forest, the children can go wherever they want."

"...Then where is the Yeti sleeping?"

"It's over here in the east, but there are a few other children besides the Yeti. When they wake up, they will also emerge from the ground wherever they want."

"Ha."

Jinuk sighed.

It was too difficult to predict even the strongest monster, the Yeti.

The overwhelming despair was naturally directed at the person who had caused this.

"You call this an experiment? It's clearly just a plan to destroy Ifrit!" Jinuk placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and yelled.

Seeing this, Aysis asked calmly, "Hmm, why do you think the Bishop sent me to Ifrit?"

"...What?"

"Isn't it obvious? Why here, out of all the cities? Even if there were useful vertical caves, it felt strange. Then I saw Ifrit's walls and thought, 'Ah, so that's why!'."

“……”

Jinuk was speechless at the direct hit.

Hanbit, who was watching the conversation, asked Aysis, "Then isn't that different from the experiment you wanted? This environment is too easy to collapse."

"It depends on how you look at it. In a place like this, I can establish a precise reinforcement system. Rather than that, can you just write down all the questions? I want to see the power of the spirit as soon as possible..."

Aysis's patience quickly ran out as she answered honestly.

Hanbit also noticed her body starting to fidget.

"So, what's your real goal? Are you trying to invade Raven?"

"Probably. Each bishop has a different plan, but ultimately, isn't world domination or something like that the goal of the Holy Kingdom?"

-World domination, wow

-But those Holy Kingdom guys are total thugs.

-The later episodes are gonna be a headache.

-Things will really start when we leave the Raven Kingdom.

The information about the Holy Kingdom was obtained through guidebooks and advance teams.

Even though it was only a part, most people could only be wary of their forces.

Because they had the overwhelming power to back up their tyrannical behavior in the name of faith.

"Anyway, what matters now is the present. Tell me everything about the types of monsters you put in those caves. There must be more than what we've already confirmed."

Only one thing mattered to Jinuk.

Preventing the third wave and protecting the safety of Ifrit.

For that, he needed accurate information about the monsters.

"Ah, shall I explain? All of it?"

Aysis jumped up, her eyes sparkling.

Then, she approached Jinuk, who hesitated for a moment.

"Have you seen the crystal spiders and hobgoblins? Oh, and the hellhounds are so cute too..."

She continued to pour out stories as if she were bragging about her children.

When her explanation began to extend beyond the territory of the Raven Kingdom, Hanbit stopped Aysis.

"That's enough. Leon will investigate the rest, so let's stop here."

"Huh? Already?"

"...Yes."

Aysis was left with a sense of disappointment, and Jinuk felt drained.

Hanbit quickly took them both outside.

"Oh, Black Dragon!"

Kudran, the dwarf, approached them after the interrogation.

His gaze fell on Jinuk who followed behind.

"The guild master is here too!"

"...Ah."

-Huh?@@novelbin@@

-This composition;

-Victim vs. Perpetrator

-Even if you stomp on his foot with a hammer, it's justified.

The violent scene they had witnessed at the monster corpse disposal site.

It was not strange for the dwarves, who were the complete victims, to show any kind of reaction.

"That..."

Jinuk hesitated to speak.

But Kudran's voice drowned out his words.

"Would you like to see this? We've already prepared so much!"

With an excited face, Kudran led Hanbit away.

In the warehouse they arrived at, there were countless weapons, such as swords and bows, that had been partially completed.

"You're definitely fast."

"I, too, have come to realize the importance of the dwarves' heirloom."

As Avantgarde said, heirloom was the most important element in this episode.

This was because the dwarves' abilities had noticeably increased thanks to this blessing.

"Would you like to go down to the workshop as well?"

"Let's go."

The group followed Kudran downstairs.

Bang-!

Thud-thud-!

All sorts of work noises could be heard from the stairs.

Aysis reacted to the sound.

"Oh!"

She jumped forward and ran towards the dwarves who were working.

Since the entire floor was dedicated to manufacturing, it was quite a sight to see from a distance.

Thud-

Following behind, Hanbit grabbed Aysis and checked the work in progress.

Preparations for the upcoming wave.

Since it was a large-scale invasion, there were many things specialized for monster extermination.

Standard weapons like ballistae, catapults, and repeating crossbows had been modified with magical devices.

"This..."

Jinuk stopped in his tracks at the sight of the dwarves sweating.

Unable to approach, he cautiously moved closer.

"Why are you here? Again with some complaint?"

At that moment, an old dwarf walked towards them from the opposite side.

It was Elder Balron.

His cold gaze was fixed on Jinuk.

"...I didn't come here to complain."

"You're even being polite, which is unlike you. Where did the person who used to stomp on dirty dwarves go?"

-Woah

-That's the right reaction.

-The victims won't forget.

-He won't let it go easily.

The elder's sharp voice was filled with the resentment he had accumulated over time.

“……”

Jinuk was speechless.

The change in his heart since the first wave.

He couldn't easily adapt to the dissonance between his past mistakes and his current resolve.

'He doesn't know what to do.'

Hanbit knew his inner thoughts well.

Simply put, he couldn't find a way out of this situation.

But since he had confronted his sister, he wasn't someone who would wander for long.

"We're mobilizing personnel to handle the monster corpses. If you have any problems, I'll take care of it, so please don't disturb this place."

"That's not..."

Jinuk took a step back at the elder's words.

After thinking for a moment, he bowed his head.

"...I'll come back later."

After leaving a greeting, Jinuk disappeared up the stairs.

The elder and the dwarves behind him watched the scene with curious expressions.

Although they were busy preparing, it was a necessary process for the future.

"I brought Jinuk here. We need his cooperation to prepare for the monster's attack."

"That word doesn't quite suit that human... Should I be close to him?"

"There's no need for that. Do whatever you want."

"...I see. As you wish."

After a brief conversation, Hanbit looked around at the work in progress.

And looking at the dwarves, he said, "The speed is sufficient. Please keep up the good work until tomorrow."

"We're having so much fun working because we're finally fired up again! Thanks to adventurers like Mr. Jenon and Levius from the magic research institute, we're coming up with so many creative things! Please tell us if you have any good ideas!"

Kudran was still excited, as if he had a surge of dopamine.

He would probably do his best to create new weapons soon.

"Then I'll go see Prince Gorik. I'll be back later."

"Oh, this way!"

As he was about to go up the stairs, Kudran pointed to the end of the corridor.

There was a tunnel big enough for one person to pass through.

"...Does it lead outside the wall?"

"Yes! Since it would take too long to go around, we just made it without telling the prince!"

Another change that hadn't existed before.

It was a small but positive change, and it was a bit amusing.

"Good. Then I'll go that way."

Hanbit stepped into the tunnel with Aysis.

Thanks to the lamps placed everywhere, the path was clearly visible.

'How will this turn out?'

The dark blue scale fragment in his hand.

It was an item he hadn't used during this period, but there was a new possibility.

Because Gorik had shown interest in Hanbit's sword.

"But when are you going to show me the power of the spirit king? You promised!"

"I can't just use it whenever I want, so wait a little."

"Ugh..."

While having such a conversation, they exited the tunnel and the dwarf village came into view.

Hanbit immediately headed towards the workshop where Gorik and Kim Jaeha were.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]