Level Up Machine

Chapter 148 Preparing for the Expedition (1)

The war between the Abaddon Alliance and the Eastern Alliance had ended.

The outcome was an overwhelming victory for the Eastern Alliance.

Due to the powerful summoners of the Eastern Alliance and the android army created by Yeong-sik, the Abaddon Alliance had to retreat unilaterally without being able to put up a proper defense.

Despite their numerical advantage, the Abaddon Alliance was holding on to some extent, but as the high-level summoners were individually defeated by the Salvator Guild, the tide of the battle quickly turned.

In such a desperate situation, both Kim Jae-hyun and Lee Doo-young lost contact, so it was natural for the kingdom’s army to immediately declare surrender.

The situation in Leopold, the center of the war, was horrific.

Refugees were overflowing, and the royal palace, half in ruins, brought despair to the citizens.

The most active in post-war recovery were the Leviathan Guild, the Ha-nul Guild, and the Salvator Guild.

The Leviathan Guild exposed all the evil deeds the Abaddon Guild had committed so far, revealing that the Abaddon Guild was behind all these events.

At the same time, they announced that it was also the Abaddon Guild that killed King Hendrik and orchestrated the internal conflict.

They placed all the charges of treason committed by the Salvator Guild onto the Abaddon Guild.

The citizens of Elnote, unaware that the real culprit behind King Hendrik’s assassination was the Salvator Guild, directed all their anger towards the Abaddon Guild.

Seizing the opportunity, the Salvator Guild generously distributed the wealth obtained through the Goldrun Guild to win over public sentiment.

The refugees, who didn’t even have food to eat, quickly changed their attitude, praising the Salvator Guild for their support.

The Salvator Guild, which had long stayed hidden, could finally act openly.

* * *

“At least the situation has calmed down to some extent.”

In the main building of the Leviathan Guild, Park Si-a, who was sorting through the mountain of documents in the office, sighed briefly as she spoke.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Yeong-sik, who was sitting in front of her drinking tea, opened his mouth. Behind him stood Lucia, with her hand on the hilt of her sword, as if to guard him.

“Is Tiria very busy?”

“Yes. It seems there are still many documents to handle.”

In response to her question, Yeong-sik smiled wryly and nodded.

He had personally visited Leviathan in place of Tiria for this reason.

As Park Si-a organized the documents handed over by Yeong-sik, she continued.

“So, you’re saying the guild house will be moved within a month if everything goes well?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Well… Considering that the annex isn’t being used anyway, is there really a need to move?”

“We can’t stay indebted to the Leviathan Guild forever. We’ve found a place for the guild house not far from here, so traveling back and forth won’t be difficult.”

At Yeong-sik’s words, Park Si-a gave a faint smile and nodded.

By now, the Salvator Guild was, along with the Ha-nul Guild, the most powerful ally to the Leviathan Guild.

They possessed power comparable to the top three guilds, if not more, making the term ‘being protected’ meaningless.

Maintaining a smooth relationship with such a reliable ally was certainly good news for her.

“Then let’s continue to exchange information once a week.”

“Yes, understood. More importantly, it’s time to discuss the central expedition.”

At his words, Park Si-a let out a short gasp.

She had been so busy lately that she had completely forgotten about the central expedition.

The new type of monster.

As she recalled the monster that was a mix of machinery and beast, her expression hardened.

Yeong-sik continued with a calm expression.

“The Salvator Guild plans to embark on an expedition to the central region in five days.”

“Do you mean the Salvator Guild alone?”

She looked at him with a bewildered expression.

Salvator had previously attempted an expedition to the central region, only to retreat due to the new monsters.

Initially, they had asked the Leviathan Guild for cooperation in the central region expedition.

But now, to suddenly embark on a solo expedition again?

Seeing Park Si-a’s puzzled expression, Yeong-sik let out a small laugh.

“The situation has changed since then.”

As he said this, he glanced at Lucia standing behind him.

“…I see.”

It wasn’t hard for Park Si-a to understand what he meant by ‘the situation has changed.’

Lucia.

She was a strong individual who had far surpassed Kim Jae-hyun, the strongest summoner in the East.

She had shown a skill gap that left Park Si-a, confident in her own abilities, feeling helpless.

‘If it’s her…’

Lucia alone was a force superior to the entire Leviathan Guild.

She defied the absolute rule that a powerful individual couldn’t face a multitude alone.

Of course, no matter how strong she was, it would be impossible for her to single-handedly sweep all the guilds in the East.

There were ultimately limits to what could be achieved by individual strength.

But what if the powerful Salvator Guild joined forces with her?

Exploring the central region where the new monsters had appeared would not be difficult.

‘It might even be more effective than going in en masse.’

A large force required a tremendous amount of resources.

Morale was important, as were issues like allocating rest periods and handling casualties.

These were not simple problems.

However, with a powerful individual like her aiding them, managing the forces efficiently was much more feasible.

“But relying too much on the Salvator Guild alone would be…”

Park Si-a trailed off with an awkward expression.

The emergence of the new monsters was not just the Salvator Guild’s personal issue.

It was a matter that all summoners and natives of the Elnote Continent needed to address with vigilance.

“I have a request for the Leviathan Guild.”

“A request?”

“Yes.”

Yeong-sik nodded and continued.

“While we investigate the new monsters, I hope the Eastern Alliance can be organized more systematically.”

“In reality, it’s just the Ha-nul Guild, Leviathan Guild, and Salvator Guild working together right now. It’s a bit embarrassing to call it the Eastern Alliance.”

The three major guilds were not everything in the East.

Unlike the western and southern regions of the continent, the East had a highly developed guild system with numerous guilds.

Additionally, many summoners operated as independent parties or solo without belonging to any guild.

In fact, many top-ranking summoners preferred not to join large guilds like the three major guilds.

As top-ranking summoners, they expected royal treatment, which was impossible within the confines of the major guilds.

These top-ranking summoners often formed their own factions or mercenary groups.

The Red Hawk Mercenary Corps led by Bae Gi-dae was a prime example.

“Hmm. But bringing other guilds into the alliance in such a short time won’t be easy.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m asking you, Park Si-a.”

“…With you putting it that way, I can’t refuse.”

“You originally planned to complete the Eastern Alliance in five years, correct?”

“That’s right. I intended to gradually incorporate the six strong guilds to form the alliance.”

“It seems we no longer have that kind of time.”

At Yeong-sik’s words, Park Si-a firmly closed her mouth.

Until now, she had thought that the Creators had suddenly stopped their movements.

But with the appearance of the new monsters, she realized they were ‘planning’ something.

Exactly when their plan would be executed was unknown, but five years was far too long to prepare.

“…It looks like we’ll have to use some rather forceful methods.”

Park Si-a spoke in a cold voice.

To quickly complete the alliance, they would have to resort to somewhat coercive means.

“I trust you.”

“I originally planned to send Ha-rin and Tae-hwang as reinforcements… but that seems difficult now.”

For the coercive methods she had in mind, Kang Ha-rin and Cheon Tae-hwang’s strength was necessary.

“It’s okay. We have her.”

Yeong-sik said, looking at Lucia with eyes full of trust.

Lucia, who was standing behind him, smiled brightly and spoke to him.

“I am ready to devote my life to you at any time, my lord. If you wish, even tonight…”

“Um, I’ll pass on that for now.”

Yeong-sik chuckled and turned his head away again.

Lucia pouted her lips at his response.

Park Si-a looked at Yeong-sik with a slightly envious gaze.

It was rare for someone not to envy the fact that he had such a formidable force like Lucia as his slave.

At that moment, a thought crossed her mind.

“Come to think of it, you said the newly emerged monsters have a mixed appearance of machinery and beast?”

“That’s right.”

“Is there any way you can use your ability to control those mechanical monsters or find out about their nature?”

“Well…”

Yeong-sik fell silent for a moment at her question.

“I haven’t had the chance to experiment with that yet. I’ll try it out during this expedition as you suggested, Si-a.”

“I think using your ability to manipulate machines will make it easy to understand the identity of the new monsters.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Yeong-sik nodded in agreement.

Park Si-a continued.

“That aside… mechanical monsters, all of a sudden. Honestly, it’s still hard to believe. Other machines appearing in this world besides the ones created by your abilities…”

“I’m just as baffled. That’s why I hastily arranged this expedition to confirm it.”

“And I haven’t mentioned this to you yet, Si-a, but this isn’t the first time machines other than the ones I’ve made have appeared.”

Her eyes widened at his words.

“It’s not the first time?”

“Yes. You know about the black cube inside the boss monsters’ heads, right? It’s also a machine without any magical power. Of course, it’s an over-technology far beyond what I can create.”

“…Oh my.”

Park Si-a grimaced as if she had a headache.

“The Creators have been using machines to control monsters from the beginning.”

“Yes.”

A short silence followed.

After a moment of contemplation, she spoke in a cautious voice.

“In that case… do you think your powers might be related to the Creators?”