V8.C42: The situation in Korea
Shizuku bent her body forward and squeezed the katana hilt in her hands. In a flash, the katana left its sheath and traced five blurred lines. She stood straight and slid the blade back into the sheathe.
Blood spurted from the five humanoid figures around her then their heads fell and rolled on the ground.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
Leo silently clapped at the wonderful performance. He never got tired of it, no matter how many times he looked at her swordsmanship.
Shizuku's calm expression brightened up as she turned around to face him.
"How did I do?"
Leo shut the book floating before him and walked over to her. "Beautiful, that's the only word I can say."
Shizuku pouted her lips. "That's such a cheap compliment."
Though she said, her eyes flickered with joy. Lost in the fluffy atmosphere, she closed her eyes and puckered her lips—something that the maiden felt no shame in doing.
Leo also immersed himself and leaned over to seal her lips.
"Oppaaa, don't ignore meeee."
He ignored the outcry of the 'yuri' girl and tightened his arms around Shizuku.
"Bad oppa."
Na YuNa put on a pout to show her indignance.
"Why did I even come here when I am just a third wheel here?" Kang MiRae whispered as the show of affection between the couple reminded her of a certain loner.
It started one hour ago.
The couple arrived at the gate in the middle of Korea, being looked after by at least a hundred ability users from different clans. Expectedly, the trio Na YuNa, Kang MiRae, and Kang HaJin were here. That should've been expected since she went away yesterday. But Yu Ilhan was missing.
Did he already go to Dareu?
He sent a drone towards the gate in the Grand Canyon and found Yu Ilhan slaying dragonkin while teleporting between multiple locations. Though it might take months, guerilla warfare like this is sure to wipe out the hundreds of thousands of dragonkin and dragons.
I see.
While carrying Shizuku, Leo released his concealment and landed before the gate. Shizuku forced out of his hands and stood beside him with a red face.
A silence swept over the people. It seems no one wanted to incur his wrath, not after what Eri and others did to the man who tried to propose his death.
"Leo oppaaaaa!"
A cheery cry shattered the silence. Na YuNa skipped between the people and greeted him.
Leo barely stopped himself from putting up a defensive shield. He had a hunch that if he let her run wild, 'something' would happen.
She is a friend of Maria, he repeated.
"Leo oppa, are you here to fight the baddie monsters?"
"Kind of."
Na YuNa glanced at the crowd putting up a defensive stance against Leo. "I never knew my fellow countrymen were so ungrateful. They are doubting someone who is here to solve the crisis of the country."
Every person in the vicinity hung their head. Leo stared at Na YuNa, trying to guess her reason to stand up for him against her own country.
Na YuNa noticed his gaze and flashed a sweet smile. "Oppa is a friend, so of course I will do my best to protect you."
I don't remember becoming your friend…
He shrugged and swept his calm gaze over the crowd. "Well, think whatever you want. But if I wanted to harm any of you, do you think you would still be standing on your own fucking feet?"
"He is right."
A sharp gust hit Leo. He stood there as Spiera flapped her two pairs of wings and landed beside him. It was the first time Leo had examined her pure white feathered wings.
'Analyze'
[Spiera]
[Angel]
[Lv 475]
[Title – High Angel]
[Strength – 698, Agility – 735, Health – 767, Magic – 410]
[Active Skills – Great Cosmos Severing Spear Lv 84]
[Passive Skills – Battle Sense Lv 20]
My stats are higher than hers...
He, a Level 307 had higher stats than a Level 475 Angel. Only because of the double awakening he went through.
Spiera, ignorant to Leo's thoughts, continued, "This man, Leo, is cooperating with Angels to solve the crisis of these abandoned worlds."
Saying so, Spiera turned to him and smiled. "Don't take this the wrong way. I only wished for them to not insult you. Since I am inferior to you in combat, any insults that they say to you would also be directed at me."
"You didn't have to explain it," Leo said. "But thanks."
"Your welcome. I will return to teach Maria." Spiera spread her wings. "I would have loved to teach you, but there is nothing I can teach you."
She smiled and shot into the sky. The people murmured in disbelief—shocked by Spiera's praise.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
Kang MiRae clapped to gather the attention of others. "You people heard Spiera, right?"
"Yes!"
Everyone replied to her obediently. Her dignified presence when paired with the title of 'Empress', no one had the guts to deny her.
Kang MiRae turned to Leo, suppressing her pride, she requested, "Can you take me too?"
Perhaps, this might be her last opportunity to level up before the 2nd Great Cataclysm arrives. For this reason, she wanted to get as strong as possible. If she treaded inside alone, there was a high chance of facing a 4th Class monster. She hated to admit it, but she had no chance to survive against it.
Leo didn't miss the competitive spirit burning in her eyes with a hint of anger.
"Wao! MiRae, you sneaky little... Oppa, take me tooo. I want to get stroooonger!" As if she would let her friend go alone.
Feeling a tug at his shirt, Leo glanced at Shizuku.
"Let's take them. They are good people."
Her motherly side is coming out again...
Leo stroked her hair while gazing at the two. "Sure, but I won't help you too."
"We can pull our weight even against 3rd Class monsters."
"Yes, YuNa will bleeeeess."
Leo cast concealment over them and entered the gate.
"Wao, these bitch—wolves already prepared to invade our country."
A horde of giant red wolves with a single humanoid with wolf ears guarded the other side of the gate. Many camps were also set up nearby.
"Shizuku."
"On it."
Shizuku used supersonic step, dashing past the wolves with a flash. The bisected bodies of wolves fell over.
Na YuNa covered her mouth with one hand.
"Shizuku is strooong!"
Kang MiRae acknowledged with a nod and threw the golden lightning crackling in her hands. The 2nd class wolves were charred by one lightning streak.
"Bless my frieeends."
With her blessing, the duo of Sword Empress and Lightning Mage cleared out the monsters. Shizuku received zero experience since she was over Level 200. But the other two felt pleased with the mass of experience.
After storing the corpses for Eri, Leo grabbed the carcass of the strongest wolf, a humanoid monster, and cast 'Mindbender' to read its memories.
"Destruction Demon Army again," Leo whispered with a frown.
This world, Kiroa, had two factions—red wolfkin and black wolfkin. The former joined hands with DDA (Destruction Demon Army) and attacked the traditional royalty of wolfkin, the black faction.
Leo shared the information with Shizuku through the network. Shizuku nodded in understanding. He also told the other two.
"What are we doing then?" Shizuku asked.
Leo licked his lips and grinned. "Our usual kill anyone who holds malicious intent against us."
That's how the current situation came to be...