Light of Arad: The First to Walk - Chapter 74



Only Noblemtl

074

The fact that the situation on the eastern side was not so good could be seen from the situation other than the growing sound of cannon fire.

Just by the behavior of people moving hurriedly as if they were fleeing.

Jinseong was observing the reactions of people who are literally living in the heavenly realm at the moment, not users or NPCs.

“Gyaaaah, ka, the cartel- the cartel is coming!”

“Damn it, how on earth did those uneducated cartel guys end up here!?”

The residents of the Celestial Realm, whose reality was Plain: Arad, which was not even reflected on the monitor of the game Dungeon & Fighter, ran frantically towards the opposite side of the cannon and vented their anger.

Jinseong saw them passing by in that brief moment.

Even though they were in the zodiac, their behavior did not look very elegant.

‘… … The economic situation is not so good either. Well, if the national defense has collapsed, how can the economy be okay? And the economy of the common people… … .’

Perhaps it was only natural.

What is the current situation in heaven?

The group attacking the imperial city of Ghent is the ‘Cartel’, a group that originated from the western part of the celestial realm called ‘Wespieth’.

A place with a harsh natural environment, the place furthest from the zodiac when the heavenly land was torn into several parts by the apostle Bakal.

During the time when they gained independence from Bakal, the celestials who had been restoring the nearby areas including the capital were unable to properly pay attention to Westphalia.

The land where the Seol-Sang-Sang Zodiac is located and the railroad connecting Westphal were installed incorrectly, so not only were supplies lacking, but even security forces were insufficient to reach that area!

What would happen to a region like the Galah Desert or the Lion Desert, where even self-sufficiency is difficult, where supplies are not properly supplied from the zodiac, and where public order cannot even be maintained?

If it is inevitable that a lawless zone will develop, it is also inevitable that a group of delinquents will emerge from such a lawless zone.

‘I didn’t know much about the background of the cartel, but after hearing Kiri’s story, I guess it can’t be helped. Well, that doesn’t mean such actions are justified.’

The delinquent group ‘Cartel’ gradually grew in size by recruiting, recruiting, and accepting criminals and villains who could no longer live in the Hwangdo and other celestial lands or who were driven out.

It was only a matter of time before a small group of Wespeace delinquents took over all of Wespeace and defeated the anti-cartel forces that tried to stop them.

What was once a group of bandits who had been pillaging the surrounding villages has now grown into a military force of overwhelming size that can even aim for the imperial capital.

“What happened to those nobles?! Why are you blocking them with just the garrison?”

“Do you believe what the nobles said about sending an army? Now that the princess has been kidnapped! Heaven is already finished!”

“Damn, what the hell is that giant monster in the sea, it looks like it’s going to collapse the zodiac!”

“If you have time to talk nonsense, get out! Throw away all that stuff you don’t have on your back!”

So who should stop them?

There are still forces remaining in the heavens. In addition to the garrison blocking the zodiac, there is a real zodiac army, and there are also nobles who raise and manage private soldiers.

But the nobles do not move. For their own purposes.

‘We won’t move because of ‘that thing’ that will happen in the future. No, maybe if this incident had progressed more favorably for the cartel, that thing in the future could have been brought forward to this point. Ugh, anyway, the reality is that there is no one here to hold the center, and the nobles’ army hasn’t been deployed either… … .’

Excluding the passive noble forces, the only remaining official military force is the one.

The regular army of the Imperial Empire.

Certainly, on their own, they would be more than capable of taking down the cartel.

The problem is that there is another problem in moving the Imperial Army.

‘Because everyone, including the Commander-in-Chief, has something else to worry about.’

The 7th Apostle, Anton the Fire-Eater.

A giant monster that can be considered an island that moves in and of itself, incomparable to any human military force.

It was such an obvious choice as to where military power would be concentrated, and the result is what has come to this.

“Whew, good. There were some things I already knew, but… … After hearing Kiri’s story, I feel like things are much more organized.”

At the point where full-scale gun smoke was visible, Jinseong took out .

By adding the story of the heavens that I heard from Kiri in front of the reinforcement machine to the background knowledge that I already knew, I was able to grasp the situation more solidly.

‘In addition to the sound of gunfire, there is also the distinct sound of gunfire. A familiar, real threat that can be heard simultaneously from various places. Good.’

[Kekekekeke… … Is this the world that Bakal played with like a toy? It’s not even Hilda’s magic… … It’s a battle system that has never been heard of in the demon world.]

“In some ways, it’s more dangerous. Magic can only be learned by talented people, and weapons like swords and spears have to be wielded while facing each other, so it takes courage and determination to do so-.”

Taaaaaaaang… … !

A gunshot rang out.

“Crook, crook! Crook!”

Taco flailed around in confusion.

Because ice with a radius of about 1m had formed in the spot where Jinseong had been standing a little while ago.

A voice continued from behind the taco that was wandering around.

“-These machine weapons are much lighter compared to that.”

The fear of guns, the ‘machine culture’ of the heavenly realm, the most unique world in Plain: Arad, was Jinseong’s, but even his own eyes were wide open.

“By the way, the ice bullet can be expressed like this?”

This was because I was able to experience the power of the actual ice bullet once again.

It was obvious that it was a special skill that had a certain probability of freezing and slowing down the target, but that was not the reason Jinseong was surprised.

‘In the game, the slow yellow bullets just whizzed through the air. But it seems like that’s not the case in reality. If I’m not careful, this could end up being even worse than Arad… . . ‘

Gulp, Jinseong swallowed dry saliva, feeling that his activities in the heavens would not be easy.

However, at this point, there was someone who was more surprised than anyone else.

“Wh… what… how can I dodge a bullet?”

Only now, one of the cartel members, who had been slowly approaching Jinseong, muttered in disbelief.

Jinseong smiled faintly after hearing that.

A bullet with speed and energy no different from reality would certainly be dangerous even for Jinseong if it just grazed him.

There were two things I figured out from the movements just now.

“Hey, are you a cartel?”

“Well, but.”

“Who is in command here, on the outskirts of Ghent?”

“… … Do you think I’ll tell you that, you idiot-!”

The distance between the cartel members and the real thing is at most 20 meters.

It takes a fraction of a second for the bullet from the time the guy aims the gun and pulls the trigger to reach Jinseong.

“iced coffee?!”

So the cartel members’ mouths were not shut.

“Tell me. It’s been so long since I’ve been in this dungeon area that I’m a little confused about what the boss mobs are and what order I should go in.”

This is because the tip of the was already barely touching the neck of the cartel member.

Because it is not easy to accept this situation that has occurred in reality.

“Here, the person in charge of the outskirts of Ghent is Lord Bentinck. And the person in charge is the mechanical arm Warjack, and under the instructions of Warjack, at the south gate… … .”

He would have no choice but to tell you everything he knew about the current situation in the outskirts of Ghent.

“thanks.”

Jinseong said.

The cartel member breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had barely managed to survive.

And the answer came from somewhere else.

[Keep kek kek… … How could you possibly mess up Hilda’s plans when you couldn’t even predict this much?]

“B-Bee, dodging was my ability! You just told me from which direction someone was targeting me. If it were a normal person, I wouldn’t have even reacted. Since it was me, I saw it and, when I thought, “Huh? I’m going to pull the trigger,” I moved.”

This was the reason Jinseong was able to avoid the ‘bullet of reality’.

The first is the Black Ball’s premonition ability.

Black Goo, who reacted immediately to threats, subtly informed Jinseong of it, and secondly, with Jinseong’s ‘uncommon physical ability’ added, he was even able to dodge bullets.

“yes yes?”

The cartel member trembled as he watched Jinseong suddenly talking to himself.

And then stabbed him in the abdomen.

“Oh, you were still listening. I can’t spare you for now. Sorry.”

Because Jinseong had no intention of sparing the life of a cartel member who had massacred civilians, including the garrison, in the celestial capital of Ghent.

“Keuk… … If I say it, I’ll die-.”

“No, no. I just told you to tell me. Didn’t I say that I wouldn’t kill you if you told me, or that I would let you live if you told me? Think about it carefully in the afterlife. Charon will welcome you. Even if you meet Moros, you won’t have anything to say.”

Jinseong pushed away the corpse of the cartel member who was collapsing without being able to continue speaking, and swept back his bangs.

‘So we’ll be dealing with ‘Arsonist Gentinck’ here first. Alright, let’s go.’

Dungeon Area: Jinseong moved quickly to find the boss of the first dungeon in the Antwerp Canyon, ‘Outskirts of Ghent’.

* * *

Finding Bentinck itself was accomplished more quickly than Jinseong had expected.

‘You naturally find yourself in the hottest and most fiery place. It’s not just Bentinck, there are quite a few cartel members.’

At this very moment, Bentinck was moving with the intent of burning everything, shooting fire with his flamethrower.

A few brave Zodiac defenders tried to fight back, but it was like throwing eggs at a rock.

The sad thing about Jinseong is that, despite being faced with this situation, he still has to watch from behind.

“Khahaha! Burn it all!”

Bentinck laughed and swung his flamethrower wildly.

The other arsonists with Bentinck also joined in, their eyes turning bloodshot as they threw Molotov cocktails.

Finally, I saw the truth.

The female gunner user I saw when riding Magata. A character that can be clearly distinguished just by the nickname above her head.

‘Okay. If the user is here, then maybe… … right.’

This was also the reason why Jinseong didn’t need to come forward.

Anyway, the adventurer will deal with Bentinck, but in terms of the ‘background setting’, there was a separate NPC who would ‘educate’ Bentinck.

“That pathetic guy… … . The guy who used to sniffle his nose came all the way here and is doing this kind of thing.”

A tall, white-haired old man glared at Bentinck.

Bentinck also looked at the old man in confusion and said:

“Oh my, so this old man was here. He was hiding in Ghent because he had nowhere to run?”

“Yes, I had to come all the way here to avoid seeing you guys as much as possible. But you’ve gone too far. I can’t stand it anymore.”

It was natural for them to know each other. At this point, users might not know it yet, but Jinseong already knew this information.

‘Berrick of the Sandstorm. He was once a member of the cartel, but eventually ran away because he could no longer bear the cartel’s evil deeds.’

Should we say that even lawlessness has its law?

Unlike the current cartel that arbitrarily harasses the weak, Berikt of the Sandstorm was a member of the cartel in the past who had a purpose, and in a way was close to one of the founders of the cartel.

“What are you going to do if you can’t stand it? The days of inspiration have long since turned to sand!”

Bentinck shouted provocatively at Berwick, insulting him.

At that moment, the battle with the dungeon boss monster ‘Arsonist Gentinck’ in the ‘Outskirts of Ghent’ began.

For Jinseong, it was nothing special.

‘I should say it’s a strange, yet familiar sense of alienation. It certainly looks like that female user is just running around on the monitor with her character and doing everything… … .’

The way the real Jinseong appears in the eyes is different.

Sandstorm Berekt moved in a way that belied his old age. True to his nickname, he was a ranger who trampled his enemies while whipping sandstorms.

The battle didn’t last very long.

The female gunner’s control was also overwhelming, so the sight of them being taken out in an instant and the flow of completing the main scenario quest continued in an instant.

“Young man, you didn’t need to get involved, but did that guy Zeldin send you? They don’t look like the Ghent garrison… … Anyway, you’re saying that Zeldin sent you? Understood, then take him away.”

Berwick and User, who didn’t even know each other’s true identity, walked a little inside Ghent with Bentinck tied up, and Zeldin started to jump at the sight.

Such scenes were also not unfamiliar to Jinseong.

As the captain of the zodiac’s defenses, Zeldin tries to control everything, and Berict has lived freely from the beginning.

Although they were originally from a cartel, their skills were outstanding, so the conversation between the two people, who were at a loss as to what to do, continued for a while.

After bickering for a while, Zeldin came to his senses and spoke to the user.

“Oh, dear adventurer, I’m sorry. I’ll have Bentinck thrown in jail right away. Thank you for your hard work.”

In the meantime, Zeldin was mumbling about how much he had suffered and was worried because of the revelation of Berict’s true identity to the users.

Anyway, for Jinseong, this whole flow wasn’t bad.

‘You’ve had a hard time, both then and now. Well, I don’t think there will be any problems on Bentinck’s side.’

From the user’s perspective, they had already completed the quest related to Bentinck and were about to move on to the next quest, so it was obvious that Jinseong would also follow her and check if there were any contaminated items.

So Jinseong quickly moved to chase after the next dungeon the user was heading to.

No, I tried to move.

“Kwat-!?”

“Ahhhh!”

User, the moment a scream is heard from the exact opposite direction from where Zeldin went.

“Hahaha, you idiots! Did you think you could capture this Bentinck so easily!?”

What was heard was Bentinck’s voice.

‘… … Huh? This line… … Haven’t I heard it somewhere?’

But to Jinseong, it was somehow a familiar remark.