Chapter 272

The problem occurred in the 10th.

The 10th Elvenwood, discovered using Sirka’s Ice Golem as a compass, had a significantly different form than the previous ones.

“… … What is this place?”

[… … Kiek?]

Not only Suho, but even Ber was embarrassed.

“fortress?”

It was a strange sight.

If Elvenwood up until now was a forest village that seemed to exist only in fairy tales, the city that appeared before the guardian party was surrounded by high walls.

It’s literally like a fortress.

[There are no barriers or cognitive-impairing magic around.]

As Ber had said, there was no transparent dome-shaped barrier around Elvenwood like there had been before.

There was a blue fog surrounding the area, obscuring the view, but no trace of cognitive impairment magic was visible.

Instead, a solid iron wall made of stone, cement, and steel, with a human touch, stood guard over the city.

[… …Master, should we attack?]

“… … .”

Quay, who always took the lead and shouted for a charge, hesitated and looked at Suho’s expression.

[First of all, ahem. Elvenwood is visible over there.]

Quay’s pointed spearhead pointed to a huge tree that stood in the center of the walled fortress.

It was definitely Elvenwood, even though the high walls and wooden pillars half-hidden it.

The evidence was the spirit birds that were wandering around the area.

They were loathsomely seen flying leisurely over the fortress like ordinary city birds, or perching on the branches of the Elvenwood trees, preening their feathers.

Sirka looked at Suho.

“Suho, what should we do?”

“Hmm. Let me think about it for a moment. Where is this place? We’ve already passed Pyongyang… … .”

First, Suho estimated the approximate location of this place.

In fact, I never even wondered about the names of the cities I passed through.

What good would it do to know the place name in the first place?

Anyway, the current North Korea’s terrain has changed at will due to runaway spirits and abnormal weather.

Where the city used to be, lava was flowing.

What used to be a mountain was split in half and turned into a lake.

So the direction of movement was more important than the exact place name, but in a case like this, I wanted to at least know the place name.

But there was no sign of any kind anywhere on the castle walls.

In the first place, I had never heard or seen that there was a fortress city surrounded by such high walls right in the middle of North Korea.

[Your Majesty, it is getting dark soon.]

Berga looked at the setting sky and urged Suho to make a decision.

But Suho couldn’t make a decision easily. 1

This was the first time that the high elves did not come out to greet us first, even though we had Sirka at the forefront unlike before.

‘Could it be that there are no elves in there?’

At that moment, something came into Soo-ho’s sight as he calmly observed the fortress.

“…person?” 1

A strange sight appeared in Suho’s eyes.

It’s ‘human’.

Looking closely, I saw that it was not an elf, but a normal human walking over the castle walls where the sunset was setting.

And they were sentries armed like soldiers.

“Elvenwood is where humans, not elves, live? Okay, I’ve decided. Let’s go in.”

[Yes! Then we will tear down the wall!]

[Moooooo!]

[Purrrr!]

As if waiting for those words, Quay, Mino, and Tau strode forward with great momentum.

“What are you going to do? There’s no barrier anyway, so let’s just walk in.”

[Yes! Then we will break down the gate… … !]

“Everything is in there.”

[… … .]

Gloomy.

At Suho’s words, the shadow soldiers disappeared into the shadows with regretful expressions on their faces, licking their lips.

“Sirka, let’s go in alone and figure out the situation. We need to get a feel for what kind of neighborhood it is.”

“Okay. Then I’ll leave the ice golem behind.”

So, Suho and Sirka approached the entrance to the fortress alone.

Walking normally.

Among the shadow soldiers, Berman was the only one who quietly followed along with only his face sticking out from above the shadow of the guardian.

* * *

“Who are you!”

As they approached the large gate, the gatekeepers guarding it stood in front of Suho and Sirka.

Suho tilted his head.

‘korean?’

It’s strange.

There wasn’t a single hint of North Korean dialect in the gatekeepers’ accents.

‘The gatekeepers are Korean? In the middle of North Korea?’

Suho spoke to the gatekeepers calmly.

“Hello. What is this place?”

“What, you’re Korean?”

The gatekeepers also recognized Suho’s origins as soon as they heard his accent, and showed a slightly relieved expression.

To the point where I could even feel a sense of joy.

Could it be because I met someone from my hometown in a foreign land like this?

But despite that, they remained true to their mission.

“How did a Korean get here?”

They aimed their sharp spearheads at Suho and Sirka and asked questions.

Suho answered honestly.

“I guess I just walked here.”

“By foot? It’s quite a distance from South Korea to here.”

“I also ran a little bit.”

The conversation is a little floaty.

But in the meantime, the gatekeepers’ eyes were carefully watching Suho and Sirka’s movements.

Traces of battle.

Although there were no clear signs of combat, the clothes that Suho and Sirka were wearing were full of vivid traces of battle.

As if I had passed through a lava path, my clothes smelled like charcoal.

The captain of the guard asked.

“Are you two all there? Are there no other companions?”

“There isn’t any.”

“Someone go and see.”

“yes!”

At the captain’s order, several people ran directly in the direction where Suho and Sirka had appeared, checked to see if there were any other people hiding, and then returned.

“What? You two are really all there is? Then how did you get here? Are there really no other people?”

“It used to be there, but it’s not there anymore.”

Suho answered honestly. 1

Then the gatekeepers’ expressions became slightly solemn.

“… … Are they all dead?”

“Um, yes. Well, that’s right.”

“… … I see. I see.” 1

It became more serious.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with Soo-ho’s answer.

First of all, it’s true that all the shadow soldiers are dead.

But as I answered, the atmosphere became more and more solemn.

“Hmm. Yes, that must have been hard for the young man.”

“The road to get here is a bit rough.”

“But where did you get this elf? How did you catch it?”

‘Catch the elf?’

In that moment, a strange sight quickly appeared in Suho’s eyes.

The nuance is subtle.

The gatekeepers were looking at Sirka, who was standing next to the guardian, with curious eyes and whispering among themselves.

“What a quiet guy.”

“Your hair color is unique?”

“How can you be so obedient without even a leash?”

“A leash?”

Rather, he was curious about Soo-ho, so he interrupted their conversation and asked.

But to the gatekeepers, that statement was even more surprising.

“Huh? You don’t know what a leash is? This is it, this.”

“iced coffee.”

When they took something out of their arms and showed it to him, Suho nodded without realizing it.

Because it was something I was very familiar with.

‘Magic restraint’

What they took out was none other than the ‘electronic ankle bracelet’ that was worn on both ankles of the villains at Jisan

Prison.

These were extremely vicious handcuffs that contained a very powerful, miniature bomb inside, designed to explode immediately if the electronic ankle bracelet was shocked or if the wearer used magical powers.

‘I think it was a device invented under the leadership of Chairman Woo Jin-cheol in the early days of the Great Cataclysm.’

Suddenly, I remembered what I had heard from Baek Mi-ho before.

-But in fact, the president of the association originally insisted that the bomb should be placed around the neck, not the ankle.

Yes, that’s right.

At that time, Chairman Woo Jin-cheol claimed that in order to properly control the villains, one must use magic power to the point where their heads would be blown off.

That’s why the name at the time of development was ‘bomb necklace’.

However, the bill was ultimately rejected due to the issue of human rights violations, and the conclusion was to put it on the ankle.

‘But why is that suddenly popping out here? And is that a leash? Could it be that it’s used here by putting it around the neck?’

The more we talk, the more questions I have.

‘Anyway, for people who have this kind of thing, it all comes down to one of two things… … .’

Villain or association.

Or another unknown group?

Thinking that it was a good idea not to attack without warning, Suho’s gaze passed over the gatekeepers’ necks and ankles.

Naturally, there were no magical restraints placed anywhere on their bodies.

‘Anyway, I guess I should at least give you an answer so that I don’t get suspicious.’

The gatekeepers looked wary of Sirka, who was not wearing a ‘leash’.

The reason why the sense of caution was somewhat light was because of Sirka’s cute appearance.

A small, young elf who appears to be about ten years old.

The small body had thick silver hair that covered all the way to its waist, so when viewed from behind, it looked like a large hamster.

And above all, Sirka basically didn’t know Korean.

Cha Hae-in was able to communicate with Sirka thanks to the necklace that Sung Jin-woo gave her as a gift, and Su-ho was able to communicate with Sirka thanks to the system’s effects.

Sirka had not been able to hear what the gatekeepers were saying at all and had just been watching blankly from the side.

With such a harmless expression.

Bam.

Suho’s palm ruffled Sirka’s hair and answered the gatekeepers’ questions.

“This guy doesn’t need a leash. I have similar skills.”

“What? Skill?”

“Skill? What skill?”

Looking at the puzzled expressions on the gatekeepers’ faces, I thought it would be quicker to show them.

‘Should I show you Gray? No. Gray has grown quite large these days, so you might feel unnecessarily wary.’

I decided.

A guy who isn’t a shadow soldier, but doesn’t look threatening at first glance.

“Ragnar.”

Swish!

“… … ?!”

At that moment, the gatekeepers’ eyes widened.

Suddenly, a small lizard appeared from Suho’s hand!

“Beep?”

Dumb eyes.

A small lizard with wings on its back opened its mouth and looked around on the guardian’s palm.

“You’ve gained some weight?”

“Beep?”

Huh?

As Suho said, Ragna had gained a lot of weight recently and was nice to look at.

It seemed that Antares was working hard behind the scenes to increase Ragna’s magical power.

“What is it, a summoning skill?”

“Were you a summoner?”

The gatekeepers were quietly amazed at Suho’s skills.

There are many different skills in the world, but summoning skills are not commonly seen.

Especially for the auxiliary series that lacks the ability to protect themselves, and especially for the summoners who are in a

mediocre job, it is not easy to survive in North Korea, which has fallen into an apocalypse.

“Then, could it be that this elf is not something you caught, but your summoned creature?”

“Well, it’s similar. Maybe I need to summon an elf to enter the city?”

“No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll just lend you this leash, so put it around your neck. Be sure to return it when you leave.”

“…thank you.”

Suho thought as he accepted the ‘leash’ handed to him by the gatekeeper.

I’m really glad Sirka doesn’t know Korean.

Suho roughly put the leash around Sirka’s neck.

However, it allows you to unlock it yourself at any time without having to press the lock or operate button.

Only then did the gatekeepers lower the tips of their spears that were aimed at the guard.

“So where is this place?”

“What’s the point of telling me? You’ll know if you go in there yourself.”

The gatekeepers let their guard down and opened the gate for Suho.

Choaaaak-

The moment the door opened in front of Suho.

What you see right away is a flashy neon sign.

[LAST PARADISE]

“…uh?”

Suho was genuinely embarrassed.

The land of North Korea where the darkness of night has descended.

In the middle of hell, where humanity has fallen into an apocalypse.

Under the shadow of the giant Elvenwood, the sacred tree of the elves… … .

A city spread out before us, splendidly decorated with colorful neon signs.

“Welcome. Welcome to the last remaining paradise in North Korea, ‘Paradise.'”