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[Chapter 170]

[Falling Wings (2)]

Mana Management Organization headquarters.

The expressions of the representatives from each region gathered in the conference room were gloomy.

Understandably so─

"─Except for Pandora Clan, no one was able to take down an army commander..."

""""...."""

Baek Seo-jin's words were the cause.

The representatives responsible for defending each region somehow managed to block the army, but they couldn't actually eliminate the army commanders leading the forces.

If none of the representatives had managed to eliminate an army commander, it would have been frustrating but not shameful.

But of all things, Pandora Clan went and took down an army commander.

Damn, I shouldn't have come early.

Like the Regulus Clan Lord, I should have just come late.

The Dangun Clan Lord and Donghae Clan Lord.

Starting with these two, the Clan Lords who appeared one after another had to listen to Baek Seo-jin's lament, who for some reason was already in the conference room today.

Though Baek Seo-jin merely lamented, for those who follow his orders, a superior's lament tends to make them feel a sense of crisis.

They fidgeted as if they had found the wrong seats.

"Ahem... KK Clan Lord, why is your body in that state? Are you alright?"

"...Thank you for your concern."

At that moment, Regulus Clan Lord Gu Yeon-su, who entered the conference room last among the gathered Clan Lords, opened his mouth.

Unable to bear the awkwardness, he deliberately spoke in a joking tone, but.

KK Clan Lord Hwang San-gun, who was injured by Ye-gyeong's army last night, revealed quite an uncomfortable mood.

In the end, Gu Yeon-su took a step back and turned his gaze to Myeongwang Clan Lord Do Wan-jun, with whom he was friendly.

"Myeongwang Cl..."

"Shut up."

"Yes, sir."

Before Gu Yeon-su could say anything.

Do Wan-jun, with a bandage wrapped around his forehead, immediately shut him up.

It seemed he was in a bad mood after letting Ye-gyeong escape this time.

Gu Yeon-su, confirming that Do Wan-jun was not in a good mood, shrugged as if there was nothing he could do.

Right then─

"─I'm not late, am I?"

"Hello! I'm Jung Ha-yang, Pandora Clan Sub-lord, representing Jung-gu!"

"Oh, Pandora Clan Lord! I heard the news today. They say you took down an army commander with your clan members this time? You really did well. And Ha-yang is attending as Jung-gu's representative? That's amazing."

Noh Eun-ha and Jung Ha-yang entered.

Except for the silly Gu Yeon-su.

The people in the room quietly focused on the two.

""""...."""

He's an unusual guy.

When he was attending the academy, we just thought he was a promising rookie with a bright future.

But Noh Eun-ha became the representative of Yongsan-gu in just one day, and today he even brought Jung-gu under his influence.

Moreover, he took down an army commander with clan members who just graduated from the academy and aren't even properly accustomed to real combat yet.

He's not someone to be underestimated.

He's scary. Does he have not only skill but also the ability to bring districts under his influence in a short time?

Including the grinning Gu Yeon-su.

At this moment, the thoughts of the Clan Lords in charge of representing each district were the same.

While they purely marveled at the achievements Pandora Clan had made this time, they also harbored thoughts that Pandora Clan shouldn't be underestimated.

"─No. You came on time, so it's fine. Well, did you sleep well?"

""""...."""

Meanwhile, Baek Seo-jin's expression changed from sighing just a moment ago.

The Clan Lords groaned watching Baek Seo-jin change to a bright expression and welcome Pandora Clan.

"Now that today's protagonists have arrived, let's start the meeting."

At those words from Baek Seo-jin.

The Clan Lords felt like they were sitting on pins and needles again.

☆

People's gazes changed.

Eun-ha, who attended the meeting, couldn't help but notice that people's gazes towards him had changed.

Probably because we took down an army commander.

Wariness, envy, satisfaction, pride, etc.

Eun-ha thought while receiving the gazes of the Twelve Seats and Clan Lords.

People who had thought of him as just an academy student until yesterday were now showing him respect.

Meanwhile─

"─First, I'm sure you've all heard the news that business groups from Gangnam supported us with supplies this morning. The supplies will be safely distributed to each region by this evening."

""""...."""

Baek Seo-jin's gaze was intense.

He opened his mouth as if proud, looking at Eun-ha.

Everyone was silent.

"I hear Pandora Clan defended Dongjak Bridge, allowing supplies to come in. In my opinion, it's an even greater achievement than killing an army commander, don't you think so too?"

""""That's right!!""""

A question with a predetermined answer.

Some with gloomy expressions.

Some with proud expressions.

The Clan Lords answered in unison.

"Thanks to that, we can breathe easier. We almost had to face those creatures in a state of insufficient supplies."

Baek Seo-jin said.

Sirius Group supplied the most resources, he says.

Those who knew which clan Sirius Group sponsored glanced at Eun-ha again.

Eun-ha unconsciously tensed his shoulders.

"Then let's have the Management Organization staff discuss the distribution of supplies, and though it's a bit late, I'd like to hear today's briefing."

""""...."""

"Controller Mo Ra-yul."

"Yes!"

Soon after, the briefing began.

Mo Ra-yul, who had been sharply rebuked by Baek Seo-jin the day before, reported on the war situation with a very tense face.

"...So, by the time the Zenith Clan Lord arrived at the scene, Ye-gyeong had already disappeared."

"And it appeared in the skies over Jung-gu 30 minutes later, is that right?"

After receiving a report on the movements of the Level 3 overrank Ye-gyeong that appeared last night.

Baek Seo-jin tapped the table with his finger.

"─I'm ashamed."

"I'm sorry."

Perhaps finding it uncomfortable.

Myeongwang Clan Lord Do Wan-jun and KK Clan Lord Hwang San-gun, who had been watching Baek Seo-jin's reactions, apologized.

To this, he shook his head as if awakening from his thoughts.

"No, it's alright. It's not something you need to apologize for. It couldn't be helped since it didn't match your compatibility. I too didn't think that creature would go there among the districts located in Gangbuk. Don't you think so too, Yong-hyun?"

"...Yes, that's right. And if I had arrived at the scene faster, the situation wouldn't have turned out like that."

"Let's stop talking about what's merely hindsight now."

What happened can't be helped.

Though we couldn't do anything about the army commander, we minimized the damage, so you did well.

While comforting them, Baek Seo-jin turned his head to Zenith Clan Lord Ji Yong-hyun sitting right next to him.

"Looking at what that creature does, it's cunning. When you saw it, do you think you can take it down? You must have seen Ye-gyeong at least once."

""""...."""

Those present fell silent.

People waited for Ji Yong-hyun's answer.

Soon, he closed his eyes, finished thinking, and nodded.

"Though <Yamma > and <Thunder Emperor> are absent, I don't think it's impossible. However, I think it's a bit insufficient with just me and my clan members. Since we need to guard Uijeongbu, we can't dispatch all five swords in this situation."

"Then what do you want to do?"

Baek Seo-jin asked.

Ji Yong-hyun looked around and answered again.

"I understand it's difficult to dispatch personnel from other clans, but I know that Jongno-gu and Gangbuk-gu have relatively little damage currently. This is because Zenith Clan is blocking monsters coming down from above."

"So?"

"So if it's alright with the Regulus Clan Lord and Silla Clan Lord, I'd like them to dispatch some personnel. I'd like at least 2 Seven Lions and 2 Six Stars attached."

"If it's about 2 people... Yes, we'll support." "Regulus Clan will support too."

"Thank you."

<First Sword> Ji Yong-hyun's request.

Gu Yeon-su and Kim Yu-jin readily accepted the request.

Ji Yong-hyun expressed his gratitude.

"Hmm... How about taking Su-jin too. Since it's a flying creature, I think we'll need someone who can somewhat counter it."

"Me?"

""""...."""

Showing no interest in the meeting.

Twelve Seats <Silent > Yu Su-jin, who was focused on eating potato chips that came as supplies.

People looked at her in bewilderment as she calmly ate potato chips even in front of Baek Seo-jin.

Even Tempest Clan Lord Kang Ye-hee sighed softly at this.

"...You stay and take care of Ye-gyeong."

"I'll handle Caesar Hopper..." "She says she'll do that."

It seemed even Baek Seo-jin couldn't do anything about her nonchalance.

He showed a troubled expression.

The quick-witted Kang Ye-hee quickly covered Yu Su-jin's mouth and answered instead.

"Let's do that for Ye-gyeong, but how to deal with Caesar Hopper is a problem..."

The discussion about Ye-gyeong ended.

Soon Baek Seo-jin brought up Caesar Hopper.

This time, Tempest Clan Lord Kang Ye-hee and some other Clan Lords who faced it last night bowed their heads.

"Well, Clan Lord Kang Ye-hee. How did it seem when you fought it?"

"It's so quick that it seems difficult to catch with guns. The speed at which it multiplies is fast too, so it seems the number increasing is more than we can take down. Above all, those creatures seem to move around using not a specific area but all of Gangbuk as their activity area." "Ah, yes. According to the reports I received, though Caesar Hopper appeared in eastern Gangbuk last night, the army was confirmed to have appeared throughout the region. Though the number of individuals in each area varies greatly, I think all areas need to prepare countermeasures."

Mo Ra-yul added.

She showed the locations where hopper-type monsters appeared over the two days while flipping through the briefing screen.

Baek Seo-jin sighed.

"The most important thing now might be Caesar Hopper rather than Ye-gyeong. People's morale has dropped as those creatures cleared out food in two days, and I'm worried they might even steal the supplies that came in today."

"Those creatures are moving intelligently following the army commander's instructions. So if we just take down the army commander... it will be easier to deal with them."

"Who doesn't know that... The problem is who and how to take it down."

""""...."""

"If only Hyeon-cheol was here, the situation would have improved... They say even dog poop has its uses, and that saying fits perfectly. A Twelve Seats member who just causes trouble all the time, and when we actually need him, he's nowhere to be seen, really..."

"...I'm sorry, Acting Minister."

"What do you have to be sorry for? Rather, you're the victim."

"Sniff..."

Baek Seo-jin clicked his tongue.

Then the Blaze Clan representative, the administrator who had been keeping his mouth shut until now, suddenly bowed his head.

People nearby could hear the administrator cursing Kang Hyeon-cheol while bowing his head.

"Anyway, fire is perfect for those creatures... Since Hyeon-cheol isn't here, as an alternative, maybe it's better to have some of Blaze Clan's Eight Jades on standby at the Mana Management Organization to respond when Caesar Hopper appears."

"Instead of the shitty Clan Lord who's not here, I'll send 3 of the Eight Jades. The rest need to defend the region, so..."

""""...."""

"It's fine if it's from your clan or even someone from another clan. Isn't there anyone proficient in flame magic? Ah, Hwang San-gun. I hear there's someone in your clan called the <Flame Witch>?"

"...I'm sorry to say, but she's in a coma after being injured facing Ye-gyeong yesterday." "Oh no, tsk..."

"I'm sorry." "It can't be helped."

Flame magic that could incinerate Caesar Hopper and its army in one go.

It seemed Baek Seo-jin judged that even Blaze Clan's Eight Jades were insufficient.

He asked the people gathered if there was no talent that could replace <Yamma >.

The Clan Lords couldn't answer.

Though <Yamma > causes a lot of trouble, we have to acknowledge his skill.

People with awkward expressions.

Eun-ha could understand why they were making such expressions.

There wasn't even anyone proficient enough in flame magic to replace the Eight Jades.

Right then─

"─Hm?"

"Bibi?"

""""...."""

Baek Seo-jin's gaze, which had been looking around those present, fixed on Eun-ha.

Others were the same.

Eun-ha blinked.

Baek Seo-jin raised the corners of his mouth.

"─The Pandora Clan Lord would be perfect."

""""That's right.""""

Even Eun-ha hadn't thought of it.

To the people here, he had already become a substitute for <Yamma >.

It was working.