790

 [Chapter 201]

[Great Escape]

The corps commanders were subjugated.

Though Maegu returned to the dungeon.

The recapture team couldn't relax.

They had just overcome a big hurdle.

There was still a second hurdle remaining.

"Ugh...!! Uh, urp...!!"

"Someone bring something to catch here! And potion! Bring potions that have the effect of treating internal organs!!"

"Aaaaargh!!"

There were many casualties.

As there were many deaths, there were far more injured.

The surviving players were busy treating those who were injured.

Even those who needed treatment had to be mobilized to care for others.

Moreover─.

"─The backlash of Turn Back the Clock will start now. Please quickly instruct the telepathists to tell people to take painkillers."

"Yes! Understo- Guherk...!!"

""""...!!""""

People who temporarily recovered from injuries due to Priscis Memory's magic.

After 24 hours passed, they had to endure terrible pain.

In that process, situations where people died unable to withstand the pain frequently occurred.

Almost everyone except those at the Arts Center was under the influence of the magic, so the aftermath was huge.

Even people who had been busy moving around treating players until then suddenly became patients.

"It can't be helped. The entire platoon will pull back the front line! Trying to defend northern Gyeonggi with the current manpower is nothing but greed."

With so many people incapacitated.

The platoons that had advanced into northern Gyeonggi had no choice but to divert most of their forces to the Arts Center.

And those platoons also judged that they wouldn't be able to defend northern Gyeonggi after a few days and withdrew.

Fortunately, as the corps commanders died in succession, spatial distortions calmed down, and the number of monsters decreased significantly.

So there was no need to be hasty.

It was a matter of advancing into northern Gyeonggi again after letting the troops rest sufficiently.

☆

At that time, Eun-ha was also groaning in pain from the backlash.

"Ugh!!"

It felt like his body would burst.

The injuries were so severe.

The backlash of and came simultaneously.

A feeling like his whole body was being bitten.

Eun-ha had to fight with pain for almost three days in the Pandora Clan barracks.

"─Ah, you're awake? How do you feel?"

"...I think I'm better than yesterday. I think I can move my body now."

"Still, be careful. Eun-ah unni said you should rest for a few more days."

After three days passed like that.

The pain subsided to some extent.

Eun-ha, who woke up that morning, conversed with Jung Ha-yang who had come to check on his condition.

She touched his body and carefully examined everything one by one.

My body doesn't have much strength, but I can use mana to some extent.

Soon Eun-ha raised his upper body with Jung Ha-yang's support.

He, who leaned his back against the raised pillow, briefly manifested his internal mana.

Then his mana circuits gave a tingling sensation.

Still, it was bearable.

Originally, being able to manifest mana meant recovery wasn't far off.

Then Jung Ha-yang said─.

"─What recovery? Didn't you hear what Riya unni said? She said it would take quite a while to heal since there's a hole in your side...."

"It's fine if it's healed this much. It's okay as long as I can swing a sword. Come to think of it, where's my sword?"

"Huh? Why the sword? I put it in that cabinet over there. You're not trying to train, are you?"

"To get a feel..."

"No, you can't. I won't give it to you."

"I'll just swing it lightly. I need to keep my body from getting rusty. I've been lying down for three days straight already."

"Still, no. I'll let you swing it when you get a bit better. And one of them broke, didn't it?"

"...Ah, right."

Jung Ha-yang guards the cabinet.

She stands in front of the cabinet with her arms spread.

Then she reminded Eun-ha of a fact he had forgotten.

Eun-ha finally remembered.

Winter Crawling on Snow shattered while fighting Maegu.

Now only Winter Blooming Coldly remained.

It's quite regrettable.

It was a sword I was used to.

It was a sword he had used for quite a long time.

Eun-ha felt regret thinking that the sword he was accustomed to was gone.

But he couldn't just regret.

He had to prepare a sword to replace Winter Crawling on Snow.

"As soon as we return from Uijeongbu, I should ask Hae-su hyung to make one quickly."

"Others were saying the same thing. They say Kaede looked for her bow as soon as she got up from her sickbed. But it seems she needs to make a new one since her bow became unusable in this battle."

"I heard it was her grandfather's heirloom before, it must be very regrettable."

"Hmm.... That was the case, but she was very angry when she woke up. She said she would definitely kill Maegu next time."

"Really? That's good. I was worried she might have been intimidated by Maegu's aura."

Meanwhile, Eun-ha heard about what had happened while he was unconscious.

In Hoshimiya Kaede's case, she was safely treated with elixir.

It seemed she had fully recovered since yesterday and was working hard on defending Uijeongbu without even resting.

It was like Hoshimiya Kaede.

Besides that, from what he heard, it seems most clan members including Choi Eun-hyuk and Jin Pa-rang are currently in a similar situation to Eun-ha.

"Pa-rang oppa and Eun-hyuk were serious. Pa-rang oppa healed faster since he's an Ein... But Eun-hyuk was in a really serious condition."

"How are they now?"

"They're okay now. Eun-woo treated them all night so they passed the critical point. They're resting now."

"That's good then."

Jin Pa-rang had his neck bitten by Maegu.

Fortunately, he barely avoided vital points thanks to being bitten on the neck while in Blade Wolf form.

And in Choi Eun-hyuk's case, they had to set up an emergency clinic on site to treat him.

He had lost a lot of blood, and his leg was amputated.

It was such an urgent situation that there wasn't even time to move him to the Arts Center and treat him with elixir.

Fortunately, they and other clan members passed the critical point of death.

The problem was─.

"─Four people died."

"..."

"Sung-hwan, Young-bin, Ji-su, Hee-jun.... We couldn't save them."

"...I see."

There were deaths in Pandora Clan.

Jung Ha-yang's voice lowered.

Eun-ha answered quietly.

""..."

The two were silent.

Jung Ha-yang held his hand.

Eun-ha grasped her hand.

It's not that I wasn't prepared....

But it's frustrating.

Except for Oh Sung-hwan.

They were clan members with vague impressions.

He hadn't been involved with them much.

Nevertheless, they were his people.

They were at least people he had shared a drink with at drinking parties.

It was inevitable to feel complicated thinking that such people had died.

"Did you recover the kids' bodies?"

"Yes...."

"You did well. Later when we return to Seoul, we should take them too. We can't tell those kids to keep fighting in a place with so many monsters like this."

"Yes.... Let's definitely take them."

"Tell the surviving kids they did well. And that I'm sorry the Clan Lord is lying in bed unable to work."

"You never worked originally."

Jung Ha-yang sheds a tear.

She forces a smile.

Eun-ha wiped her tears.

☆

Afterwards, Jung Ha-yang also told Eun-ha about things he hadn't been able to grasp until now.

Mok Min-ho and Jung Ha-yang were handling the affairs of the 2nd Supply Battalion and Pandora Clan in place of Eun-ha.

It seems Roh Eun-ah and Cha Eun-woo were busy treating the injured day after day.

"And you know."

"Yes."

"There was a request from the Tempest Clan Lord."

"What kind of request?"

Then Jung Ha-yang spoke as if she remembered something.

Eun-ha tilted his head.

He thought about what kind of request could come from Tempest Clan.

Nothing came to mind.

Soon she resolved his curiosity.

" lost her right hand while fighting Maegu."

"Ah.... Really? As I remember, her hand wasn't injured."

"That was thanks to 's magic. But as the magic's effect disappeared...."

"She lost her hand again, you mean."

"Yes. Moreover, since Maegu ate her hand, it's said it absolutely can't be treated without using elixir...."

Yu Su-jin lost her right hand.

It would have been an emergency for Tempest Clan.

And there was only one thing Tempest Clan could do to treat Yu Su-jin's right hand.

They asked for elixir, right?

Sure enough.

Eun-ha's prediction was correct.

Pandora Clan had prepared 3 elixirs in preparation for the recapture war.

Even though they started regularly making elixirs after Eun-ae began cultivating Eunranghwa, the quantity was overwhelmingly insufficient.

As a result, the Fairy Government even placed restrictions on possessing elixirs.

Above all, elixirs were used to treat people in urgent situations.

It was almost impossible to stockpile them.

Except when the Fairy Government made a special exception to allow stockpiling elixirs when the Uijeongbu Recapture War was announced.

On the other hand, Pandora Clan was exceptionally allowed to stockpile elixirs.

Originally they could only stockpile 1, but because of the recapture war they were able to stockpile 2.

Pandora Clan was exceptionally able to stockpile 3 instead of 2 because of the recapture war.

It was understandable.

Because Sirius and Alice Group, who were involved in making elixirs, had connections with Eun-ha.

Moreover, Eun-ae was his younger sister.

They had to be an exception.

"I understand what you're saying. So you gave the remaining elixir after using it on clan members to Tempest Clan?"

"Yes.... At that time, our clan members weren't even in a state to use elixirs anymore so we had some leeway. So the sub-lords agreed and decided to give it to Tempest Clan."

"I see, you did well."

"I'm sorry for giving it away without your permission."

"You guys are the ones to substitute for me when I'm absent. You worked hard in my place."

Eun-ha passed over it without hesitation.

The sub-lords wouldn't have given away the precious elixir without any compensation.

As he expected, Jung Ha-yang continued with relief.

"─The Tempest Clan Lord said thank you for helping, and to call anytime his strength is needed. He said he would move as much as the price of the elixir."

"I see, that's enough. If Tempest said that, it's fine."

Eun-ha nodded.

There was nothing bad about creating a debt with Tempest Clan.

He could think about where to use it later.

Besides this, the two spent time conversing.

Jung Ha-yang even fed Eun-ha in place of him who still had difficulty moving his body.

Then at that moment─.

"─Kang!"

"Pipi pipi papa papa pupu pupu!"

"Huh?"

Through the open door.

Some animal jumped in and suddenly leapt onto Eun-ha's bed.

Eun-ha reflexively caught the animal.

Then Buldak perched on Eun-ha's shoulder and chirped.

"Papa!! Pupu!! Pipi!!"

"Kaka kuku!!"

"...Ah, it's noisy."

Though his body hadn't healed yet.

The pass connected to the phantasmal beasts made his head buzz.

It was fine when it was just Buldak.

But with the newly contracted phantasmal beast added, his head hurt.

"Kang!"

Whether it knew Eun-ha's feelings or not.

The snow-white liger clung to Eun-ha and acted cute.

It came under his hand and begged to be petted quickly.

Eun-ha somehow ended up petting the phantasmal beast's head.

Jung Ha-yang smiled seeing them.

"The kids didn't want to leave you at all."

"For that, it seems like they went out to play and came back?"

"They did go out to play after you got better."

He strokes Buldak's chin.

He pets the liger's head.

Eun-ha smiled bitterly hearing Jung Ha-yang's words.

By the way, what is this really?

Soon Eun-ha lifted the liger.

It was just like a puppy.

It had no dignity befitting a liger, just making its eyes sparkle.

"Kang!"

"I know what kind of kid you are."

Reading emotions through Eun-ha's pass.

The liger suddenly says it's a phantasmal beast that handles lightning.

Eun-ha smiled slightly.

I don't know why a liger came out instead of a flying dragon unlike before the regression....

But this one isn't bad either.

Not just not bad.

He quite liked it.

The power to handle lightning.

The power to bind opponents.

And the power to create blasters.

The liger had the powers Eun-ha needed.

It wasn't inferior compared to On Tae-yang's phantasmal beast before the regression.

No, personally it was better.

"Pupu."

Then Buldak expressed dissatisfaction.

Eun-ha played with Buldak as a sign of apology.

It quickly cheered up.

"Ah, about your phantasmal beast. While taking care of it, Riel gave it a name...."

"Don't tell me it's something like 'Roar'? What did she name it?"

"...It's not that, she named it 'Gang' since it cries 'kang'. She was even singing saying it's 'GANG' in English."

"Kang!"

"Ugh...."

Soon hearing Jung Ha-yang's words.

Eun-ha frowned.

And looked at the liger.

The liger was responding.

It liked it.

What can I do if it likes it.

Ah, I don't know.

The pass kept ringing.

It was noisy.

His head hurt.

Eun-ha gave up thinking.

What he was curious about wasn't the phantasmal beast's name.

"So did you find out what monster this one is based on?"

"Uijeongbu's mana state improved so I briefly talked with ...."

"Yes. What did say?"

"She said she wasn't sure. It's a monster that hasn't been confirmed so far. But if she had to classify it, she said it might be a subspecies of the 3rd rank monster Celestial Liger."

A phantasmal beast based on a 3rd rank.

Honestly, it was a bit too much spec for the small liger.

But seeing the power the phantasmal beast showed, it was worthy of being called that.

Then the second phantasmal beast is also based on a 3rd rank monster like Buldak.

This, other players will be envious if they find out later, right?

Eun-ha put Gang down.

It soon got along with Buldak and ran outside on its own.

It seemed to be curious about many things since it was born not long ago.

Eun-ha decided to continue resting while entrusting Gang to Buldak.

 Jung Ha-yang covered him with the blanket.

"Sleep more. I'll take care of the rest."

"I'm sorry for always leaving things to you."

"But you saved me in return, honey."

"...I'm glad you weren't hurt."

"It's thanks to you. Thank you. At that time.... You looked so cool fighting Maegu."

"Did you fall for me?"

"Yes!"

Jung Ha-yang's face comes closer.

Eun-ha felt her warmth.

After a long kiss.

Jung Ha-yang held his hand.

"I want to go home quickly and rest."

"Me too."

"Yes, I'm so excited. Right?"

"..."

The emotion felt from Jung Ha-yang's gaze.

Eun-ha kissed her once more.

☆

With the recapture team taking a big hit.

The 7th Attack Platoon was standing guard near the Arts Center.

Dark King Clan Lord Do Wan-jun was commanding them and thoroughly managing the situation in Uijeongbu.

Even though the corps commanders were subjugated, they couldn't relax.

We don't know if new ones might appear the moment we let our guard down.

Now that probably won't happen.

Still, they couldn't be careless.

And thanks to his efforts, Uijeongbu was gradually finding stability.

Other platoons that returned from northern Gyeonggi helped, except for Do Wan-jun.

It was on one such day.

"─What did you say?"

"Yes, well..."

Do Wan-jun heard unexpected news.

He asked the navigator who relayed the information again.

The navigator was troubled.

Then unable to withstand Do Wan-jun's gaze, he opened his mouth.

"It seems they found a human face at the top of the wisteria at Uijeongbu Station."

"..."

"It apparently... looks just like player Bang Yeon-ji."