Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 47: Raid (1)
"Essence, you say?"
"To purify Iduz, I believe that much is necessary. Of course, it must be of high grade or better."
Marquis Cunningham's expression turned to one of confusion.
It was no surprise, as essence was no ordinary thing.
It was the essence of mana, a rare substance that could only be obtained within gates, and even defeating boss-class monsters wouldn't guarantee getting it.
Moreover, the ‘high grade’ essence Seo-jun was referring to couldn’t be bought with money.
Such items were managed at a national level.
Naturally, it was known that the Cunningham family did not have any high-grade essence officially.
Of course, it was known publicly, but in reality, they had some.
They had been granted two high-grade essences by the royal family.
However, Seo-jun had specifically mentioned an essence that was supposedly not in the Cunningham family’s possession.
"I’m sorry, but essence is hard for me to obtain as well. Instead, I’ll increase the payment. How about doubling the amount?"
Doubling 40 billion would amount to 80 billion.
An astronomical sum that no ordinary person could dream of, even for someone like Marquis Cunningham, it was not a small amount.
Usually, at this point, most people would have made a concession.
But.
"It has to be essence."
Seo-jun didn’t seem to want to negotiate.
His unexpected response caused the expression of Marquis Cunningham’s aides to stiffen.
Dozens of eyes were now focused on Seo-jun.
Under the gaze of so many, it was difficult for anyone to speak their mind, but Seo-jun seemed remarkably at ease.
The one holding the sword wasn’t them; it was Seo-jun.
"If you don’t want to, I’ll leave now."
"...Fine."
Seo-jun stood up to leave, but then sat back down.
"However, it will take some time to bring the essence from the family."
"I understand."
Essence is typically stored in secure places.
If the location is known to outside forces, there’s a risk of it being stolen.
It was unusual for Cardinal Francis, who carried essence with him, to do so.
"Sigh, but how did you know I had essence?"
"I’ll keep that a secret."
"Haha, I see."
After that, Seo-jun and Marquis Cunningham settled on the specific time and place before leaving the café.
On the terrace, after Seo-jun left.
"Your Excellency, do you really think it’s alright to hand over the essence?"
"You saw it too, didn’t you? The sight of that person talking while holding the magic sword."
"...It was hard to believe even after seeing it with my own eyes."
"He must have been showing off."
Marquis Cunningham shook his head.
Iduz was a famous magic sword.
It was cursed by the second Sultan of the Room Sultanate.
Maintaining a clear mind while holding such a sword was no easy feat, even for someone like Marquis Cunningham.
Yet Seo-jun, holding Iduz, seemed to remain completely at ease.
As if the Sultan’s curse meant nothing to him, Seo-jun casually held the sword and even admired it.
It was almost as if he was showing it to Marquis Cunningham.
At that moment, Marquis Cunningham became convinced that Seo-jun had the ability to purify Iduz.
If that were the case, 40 billion was nothing.
If Seo-jun could purify Iduz, he would be willing to pay not just 40 billion, but double that amount.
The essence was quite painful, though...
‘If I want to save the family, I’ll have to bear this cost.’
No matter how precious essence was, it couldn’t be more valuable than the family.
The Russian Orthodox Church’s Korean branch.
"This is madness."
Nikolai pressed his hand to his forehead as he looked over the order from Moscow.
He had been going through the worst period of his life recently.
He had voluntarily sold the church’s executive priests to the South Korean government.
Because of that, he had fallen out of favor with the Archbishop, but he had no choice.
If he hadn’t done that, he was certain he would be 'dead.'
The eerie sound of scissors spinning still seemed to ring in his ears.
After 'that incident,' Nikolai had been haunted by those chilling hallucinations for a long time.
There were countless times when he would wake up suddenly in the middle of the night, hearing the sound of scissors.
He had since removed all scissors from the church.
Every time he saw scissors, the image of a woman smiling while holding them would come to mind.
─There are plenty of people to negotiate with.
"......"
Nikolai shuddered.
He just hoped that the next negotiation wouldn’t be with someone who would bring about his death.
The problem was that Moscow was demanding 'results.'
Since failing to secure the saint, Nikolai had accomplished nothing.
But he couldn’t just bring the saint back.
While Nikolai was stuck in this dilemma, news arrived that Marquis Cunningham had entered Korea with the magic sword "Iduz."
It was an opportunity.
‘Even if it’s not the saint, Iduz would suffice.’
Iduz was a magic sword, but it was also a unique relic classified as a sacred item.
It belonged to Godfrey of Bouillon, one of the leaders of the Crusades and one of the Nine Worthies.
The Archbishop was also showing interest in Iduz, and if he could just get his hands on it, he could make up for the previous failure.
Of course, getting Iduz wouldn’t be easy.
Marquis Cunningham, the owner of Iduz, was an S-rank hunter who was likely to ascend to even higher ranks, and to target Iduz, he would have to deal with his guards as well.
But it seemed far more feasible than targeting the saint.
Moreover, Marquis Cunningham wasn’t just trying to bring in Iduz—he was also trying to smuggle in ‘essence’ to Korea.
While Cunningham hadn’t made it public, Nikolai could tell.
The Russian Orthodox Church’s surveillance network in the West was quite tight.
Once essence left the UK, it would be impossible to avoid the Church's eyes.
‘Going after both Iduz and essence is impossible.’
Both were tempting, but the Russian Orthodox Church currently had no operations in Korea.
After the large-scale discovery of their agents, the South Korean government had been raiding the Church mercilessly.
Sadly, he would have to give up one of the two.
After much thought, Nikolai decided to use essence to draw in other forces.
He didn’t even need to think about which forces to pull in.
"Contact Ambassador Wang Wei."
"Understood."
China.
If they offered essence, China would rush in eagerly.
The Magoo Festival began.
The park in front of Yeomyeong’s Constellation Guild headquarters was filled with so many hunters that there was no space left.
Meanwhile, I was meeting someone inside the Yeomyeong’s Constellation Guild headquarters.
"Nice to meet you. I’m Shin Soo-ah, the guild master of Yeomyeong’s Constellation Guild."
Shin Soo-ah, the guild master of ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Yeomyeong’s Constellation Guild, was a delicate woman with twin-tails.
"I’m Choi Seo-jun."
Shin Soo-ah’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Seo-jun.
"I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re the famous..."
"Guildmaster!"
"Ah, was that supposed to be a secret?"
At Hajinwoo’s correction, Shin Soo-ah scratched her head.
She looked like a bit of a fool, but she was definitely someone you shouldn’t underestimate.
There were plenty of hunters who had been fooled by her innocent-looking demeanor and ended up getting slapped.
Evil Star.
As her nickname suggested, she was someone who would resort to violence if things went wrong.
She even had a record of smashing the face of the mayor of Seoul during the "large-scale gate breach incident."
─Sorry, my hand slipped... Ah!
That phrase had become so famous that no one could forget it.
She had kept hitting, even after apologizing.
"...Ugh, I’m sorry. I made a mistake."
"It’s alright."
I accepted her apology with a broad heart.
This seemingly careless woman was actually Seoul’s ultimate weapon.
An S-rank hunter from the strengthening class.
No weapon was needed.
Her whole body was a weapon.
"Seo-jun Hunter, unlike some others, is so kind-hearted."
"...Guildmaster."
"Why? I didn’t say I was the 1st team leader."
Hajinwoo, rubbing his forehead, asked for my understanding.
"Seo-jun Hunter, I’m sure you’re busy, so let’s get going."
"Understood."
Since I had an appointment to meet Marquis Cunningham, I stood up from my seat.
"See you next time!"
I waved enthusiastically as the guild master saw me off.
Ambassador Wang Wei of China looked at the park where the Magoo Festival was being held.
Having failed to enter the Noryang Gate in pursuit of Yi Sun-shin’s helmet, he was now preparing a new plan.
"Essence will definitely be ours."
"Go ahead. I only need to recover the sacred relic."
Looking at Bishop Nikolai, who mentioned sacred relics, Wang Wei clicked his tongue inwardly.
"Tsk, tsk, those crazy fools."
Not all relics were good.
Some relics were more trouble than they were worth.
Iduz was one such relic.
If you held it, it would drive you mad and only swing the sword—why would anyone call such a thing a sacred relic?
Wang Wei had no intention of understanding the minds of these fanatics.
‘As long as I get the essence, that’s enough.’
Learning from his previous failure, Wang Wei prepared his plan thoroughly this time.
The chance of success was high.
Yeomyeong’s Constellation Guild was focusing on the park where the event was being held.
Meanwhile, Marquis Cunningham, who was the target, was far away in a meeting hall.
Wang Wei, confirming the situation, asked.
"Is there anyone dangerous inside?"
"Only Marquis Gerald and his guards. There’s no one else worth worrying about among the others."
Nikolai, looking at the meeting hall from the hill, replied.
From his observation, the only significant person inside the hall was Marquis Gerald.
The others were just low-tier hunters.
Among the hunters attending the Magoo Festival, there were few high-tier hunters.
‘It’s a little concerning that the Evil Star is back from the US, but it’s fine.’
She wouldn’t be able to get involved in what was happening inside the hall.
"We'll begin."
Bishop Nikolai raised the stake he had prepared.
─Titus’s Stake.
It was the stake used by Roman Emperor Titus during the suppression of the Jews, when he isolated the Jerusalem temple.
Its effect was ‘complete isolation.’
Once used, it could never be used again, but it was worth the sacrifice.
Nikolai drove the stake into the ground.
At the same time.
Boom———
A deafening sound rang out as the hall was surrounded by a foggy barrier. frёewebnoѵēl.com
"Eh?"
What’s going on?
"What’s happening?"
"I don’t know."
I looked up from the meeting with Marquis Cunningham, as the building suddenly shook.
Was it an earthquake?
