Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 185

The next day.

The group gathered in front of the space gate after a long time.

It was to attend the Ultimum Fes executive meeting held at noon.

“Don’t come within 1 meter of me. It’s unpleasant.”

Park Hyun-ah’s voice was full of edge.

She frowned deeply, looking quite displeased.

“I wish you would just disappear, but that’s impossible… I’ll close my eyes.”

Abelson said without even looking at Choi Hyun-seok.

“That’s not what I meant…”

Choi Hyun-seok complained with an aggrieved expression, but no one seemed to be listening.

Then Rachel landed on his shoulder.

“Hero, Hero!”

“What is it now?”

“I will follow you to the end!”

Rachel clenched her fist and said.

“Huh…?”

Choi Hyun-seok looked at Rachel with distrustful eyes.

Instead of the usual taunts, she was cheering him on?

“Why are you suddenly like this? It’s unsettling.”

“Since I’m already tainted! What difference does it make if I leave you now!?”

Choi Hyun-seok sighed with a ‘here we go again’ expression.

“Let’s hear what nonsense you’re spouting this time.”

“Isn’t that right! Rachel has always been in your arms, and I’ve felt it every time, right!?”

Rachel nodded as if she knew everything.

“I understand. It’s because Rachel is pretty and lovely! But, please bear with me! The exclusive fairy is only there to guide the hero on the right path… Ugh!”

Choi Hyun-seok grabbed Rachel and threw her away.

“Tsk. I’m already annoyed.”

He dusted off his hands as if he had touched something dirty.

“Huff! Huff!”

“Bobo, you’re the only one for me…”

Seeing Bobo wagging its tail as it approached, he felt a warmth in his heart.

Bobo was the only one who would hug him.

As he stroked Bobo with loving eyes, a stern voice fell.

“What are you doing, not coming quickly!”

“Yes! I’m coming!”

Soon after, Park Hyun-ah and Abelson passed through the gate.

Choi Hyun-seok also hurriedly stepped into the gate.

***

Carebe Cowell.

In the past, he was a man who made a name for himself as a legend of the Drasen Empire in the early days of the war with the demons.

He was already well over 500 years old, a rare super-elderly even among legends.

It seemed somewhat difficult to be active as an active player, but Carebe still did not leave the battlefield.

Although his physical abilities were inferior to other legends, the experience and skills he had accumulated over hundreds of years were more than enough to make up for his lack of physical strength.

“Hmm…?”

Having experienced so many things, Carebe was not easily flustered by ordinary events.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at someone.

“Park Hyun-ah. Who is the man behind you…?”

“You senile old man. I told you not to call me ‘Miss’.”

“Yes, yes. I understand, so please introduce the friend behind you.”

Park Hyun-ah shook her head.

“It’s Choi Hyun-seok. Didn’t you report it to Sullivan last time?”

“Hmm… Was that so?”

“I reported it a week ago. By the way, that was the fifth report related to Mr. Choi Hyun-seok.”

Sullivan sighed softly.

Carebe clapped his hands as if he finally understood.

“Oh, that’s right! I remember. I remember!”

“The old man doesn’t remember. Did you even look at the report in the first place?”

“Hey! What kind of great cause did I have in mind when I founded this organization! Do you think I would do it so carelessly!?”

Carebe, wearing a stern expression, pointed behind Park Hyun-ah.

“So. Park Hyun-ah. Who did you say the man you came with was?”

“Haa, damn it…”

Park Hyun-ah swept her face with a deep sigh.

Choi Hyun-seok, who had been watching all this farce, fell into deep skepticism.

‘To put up the slogan of humanity’s last hope in this state, isn’t that too shameless of an act towards humanity?’

It was an organization that nominally advocated the ‘Humanity Protection Squad’.

Although small in scale, he had expected a wonderful elite group united by a sense of mission.

Even an elementary school class meeting would run better than this.

“Let’s talk about Choi Hyun-seok later. First, tell me why we’re meeting today.”

Park Hyun-ah sat on a nearby chair and crossed her legs.

Choi Hyun-seok naturally stood behind her.

“Ahem, ahem, well then. It seems everyone is here, so let’s begin.”

Chief Carebe Cowell.

And four executives, including Park Hyun-ah and Sullivan.

It was a meeting held with a total of five people.

“First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their efforts in fighting the undead and stopping necromancy.”

Sullivan used magic to display a continental map.

It was a map showing the terrain of the continent, the territories of each country, and the boundaries of the demonic realm.

“So far, necromancy has occurred in a total of 500 locations. More than 300 of them were suppressed in the early stages, but the rest all saw the emergence of dominant entities and grew into huge undead legions.”

More than 200 red dots were marked on the map.

All of them were undead legions that had formed large groups due to the appearance of dominant entities.

“Among these, our Ultimum Fes has eliminated thirty-five dominant entities, annihilating the undead legions.”

At the same time, thirty-five red dots on the map were marked with an X.

“And each country has dealt with approximately ninety on its own.”

Once again, a large number of red dots disappeared.

Now, only about 100 red dots remained on the map.

“As of two weeks ago, there were a total of ninety-seven undead legions remaining. At first glance, it may seem like there aren’t many left, but the situation has worsened.”

Sullivan continued with a serious expression.

“Each legion has become so large that it is difficult to handle, and the trend is that such powerful legions continue to increase.”

“The trend is… Does that mean it’s not the case now?”

The fact that he said ‘trend was’ instead of ‘trend is’ meant that it was not the case now.

Park Hyun-ah’s point was accurate.

“Yes. Two weeks ago. The Holy Empire declared a holy war.”

“Holy war…”

“And what you see on the map now is the number of undead legions remaining.”

Most of the red dots on the continental map disappeared.

There were less than thirty left.

Sighs were heard from various places.

“Huh… They crushed that many undead legions in just two weeks?”

“That’s not all. Please look at the location of the demonic boundary here.”

The demonic boundary.

It refers to the boundary line separating the demon realm and the human realm.

“Since the beginning of necromancy, the demonic boundary has continued to move north, reducing the human realm, but…”

“It’s been restored?”

“Yes. In just two weeks, they have almost restored the front line that had been pushed up for more than two months.”

Everyone’s expression became serious.

To summarize what Sullivan just said in one sentence:

Since the Holy Empire of Gatrein began to move in earnest, it has dealt with most of the undead legions and pushed back the front line in just two weeks.

It was too overwhelming to be the power of a single nation.

Then Park Hyun-ah opened her mouth.

“What is the purpose of the holy war?”

There is always a goal in a holy war.

To recapture a city.

To eliminate heretics.

Any holy war always begins with a clear purpose.

What they have to do in the future will depend on the purpose of this holy war.

“The elimination of the Demon King.”

Everyone’s expression darkened at Sullivan’s words.

“Does that mean… we can take it that they have finished preparing to swallow the continent?”

“I guess so. Eliminating the Demon King is the same as saying that they no longer need demons.”

Divine power is strong against demonic energy, but weak against magic power.

This means that when fighting against the same humans, the Holy Empire of Gatrein has to fight with a penalty.

For this reason, no matter how powerful the Gatrein Empire is, it is not enough to face all human forces.

So Gatrein used the Demon King’s army.

They checked other human forces and built up their strength by fighting the Demon King’s army.

“Currently, the power of minor kingdoms has been halved due to necromancy. Some countries are on the verge of collapse.”

“It’s in perfect condition to swallow them up.”

“That’s right. But, the problem is not just this.”

“What else is left?”

“As I said just now, the Pope has started a holy war. In fact, this itself is the biggest problem.”

Everyone wore a somber expression at Sullivan’s words.

“Gatrein’s army will grow enormously.”

The army participating in the holy war is temporarily incorporated into the Deusis Order [a religious military order].

The Pope, the head of the Deusis Order, is the Emperor of Gatrein.

In other words, it is no different from becoming Gatrein’s army.

“Almost all countries, except for a few countries such as the Drasen Empire, Domis, and the Agros Kingdom, which are strong enough to block the undead on their own, have participated in the holy war.”

“They traded the handling of the undead for participation in the holy war.”

“Yes. If this continues, it can be said that it is only a matter of time before most countries go over to Gatrein.”

“Hmm… This is not good…”

The future began to be drawn.

The humans gathered under the holy war will push back the Demon King’s army in an instant.

It won’t take long to cut off the Demon King’s head either.

The problem is after that.

What will the gathered army do?

“Gatrein will reveal its ambition to dominate the continent. They will probably define the countries that did not participate in the holy war as heretics and then deal with them.”

“If only a few powerful countries collapse, the rest will crawl on their bellies.”

“Then it’s completely Gatrein’s world.”

Sighs erupted from various places.

It is too great a flow for a few people to step forward and stop.

“Haa, why did that Demon King make things difficult by using necromancy for no reason? It’s annoying.”

Park Hyun-ah scratched her head irritably.

“If Gatrein is moving this seriously, can we assume that the hero development project is almost over?”

Sullivan nodded at Park Hyun-ah’s question.

“There are reports that heroes who appear to be project targets are already appearing on some battlefields.”

“Have they started pilot operation in earnest?”

“I think so. They are called Iron Demons (鐵鬼) [literally ‘iron ghosts,’ referring to magically enhanced soldiers] on the battlefield…”

“Iron Demons? What does that mean?”

“It seems they used magical engineering to completely change the human body into metallic properties. Even if they are cut, they can be repaired at any time by replacing parts.”

“…”

“They mercilessly massacre the enemy without emotion in such bodies, so the nickname Iron Demons is fitting.”

“It’s a headache.”

Just Gatrein’s army alone is a big problem, but the hero development project has also been completed.

The work has become twice as difficult.

Sullivan continued the explanation.

“Their average combat power is from knight commander to hero level. The revealed number is about one thousand, but I don’t know how many more are hidden.”

“They modified that many people with magical engineering? Regardless of whether it is possible, it will cost a lot of money.”

“Because Gatrein is the richest country on the continent.”

Then Choi Hyun-seok, who was listening to the story, whispered in Park Hyun-ah’s ear.

“That… when you say hero development project, aren’t you talking about those doll-like guys?”

“That’s right.”

“Aren’t those guys just experience points anyway?”

Choi Hyun-seok had clashed with them several times.

‘In a way, they were similar to the undead.’

Those who have excellent force but do not know how to use it properly.

Now, they are nothing more than experience points for Choi Hyun-seok.

“What you faced were incomplete, test subjects to obtain data. The guys coming out now will be much more complete.”

“Still, they seem to be at the level of a Demon King’s army commander. Wouldn’t it be useless even if they gathered together?”

“No. It’s dangerous. They may be so strong that we can’t do anything about it.”

Park Hyun-ah continued with a serious expression.

“You still don’t know how strong the power of a group is.”

The power exerted by trained elites is beyond imagination.

For example, let’s say 100 people with a combat power of 50,000 fight against 1 person with a combat power of 500,000.

Then, the combat power of 500,000 will overwhelmingly win as much as it can be said to be certain.

However, if 50,000 combat power people receive training as a group and prepare properly, the situation will be completely reversed.

Even if two or three people with 500,000 combat power come, they cannot defeat 100 people.

Large-scale magic circles used by many people together create overwhelming power, and various linked skills used by trained people show excellent power that makes even ten times the combat power pale.

“The Knights of Divine Grace of Gatrein are the most representative example.”

The Knights of Divine Grace.

Their average combat power, consisting of 1,000 high-ranking paladins, is approximately 50,000 to 60,000.

“I’ve clashed with those guys before, and I almost died then.”

Park Hyun-ah, who had fought against the Knights of Divine Grace in the past, had to run away to survive throughout the battle.

“They say that the power of the Knights is equal to one legend, but don’t say nonsense. In my opinion, it’s hard to win even if two ordinary legends come. They actually dealt with Ju-dung too.”

“Rather, they reduced the power and announced it?”

It was a strange thing.

Usually, a country is eager to show off its power, but rather reduces it and announces it.

“If they reveal it as it is, the vigilance of other countries will increase.”

“They are really terrible guys.”

“You have to see it as thorough.”

Park Hyun-ah smiled bitterly.

“The fact that such guys have started to operate in earnest means that they are confident enough.”

At that time, when the two were talking quietly.

Sullivan raised his hand and spoke.

“So, today’s agenda is how to counter Gatrein in the future.”

“Let me speak first.”

It was Carebe Cowell, the head of Ultimum Fes.

“In a way, it’s good. I had something to say to you anyway.”

Everyone’s eyes are on the old man in the center of the conference room.

Carebe opened his mouth.

“A few days ago, I received a call from my home country.”

“If it’s the old man’s home country…”

“That’s right.”

He nodded with a serious look.

“It’s the Drasen Empire.”

At the same time as he uttered the words, the conference room door opened.

“Nice to meet you. Ultimum Fes, who protects humanity.”

A middle-aged man who suddenly appeared.

Everyone looked at him with puzzled eyes.

Park Hyun-ah glared at Carebe with cold eyes.

“Has the old man really gone senile? Giving away the location here to an outsider?”

The location of Ultimum Fes is strictly secret.

If discovered, all gates are destroyed and the organization’s location is moved.

It is an inevitable thing because secrecy is the life of the group.

Then the man stopped Park Hyun-ah.

“Please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come because Sir Cowell called me. I came here on my own.”

The man bowed gracefully.

“Let me formally introduce myself. I am Olaven Grimier, Duke of the Drasen Empire.”