The Anti-Intellectualism Demon King’s World Invasion - Chapter 73



Only Noblemtl

Episode 73

The Mermaid Queen looked like an actress trying her best to avoid the passage of time.

Her face was covered in makeup to the point where it was unrecognizable, including dark eye shadow around her eyes.

She waved at people like an actress at a movie awards show, but instead, people just looked at her and whispered as if they were looking at animals in a cage.

Security for the Mermaid Queen’s parade was not particularly tight.

Instead, the military and police focused on controlling the crowded crowds.

In fact, the military’s key defensive point was the National Assembly building, where the governor, commissioners, and members of the patriarchate gathered.

We dispersed to our assigned locations as planned.

I approached the live fish transport cart, being careful not to be noticed by anyone.

The live fish transport cart had its engine and driver’s seat removed, and was moved by people pulling it with handles like a cart.

After making sure no one was watching, he took out his golden shield and struck the wheel.

pop!

The wheel exploded with a loud noise like a bomb exploding.

The live fish transport cart tilted to one side, spilling the fish out along with the water.

At first, people were shocked and ran around.

But soon, when they saw the fish that had fallen to the bottom, they flocked back again.

Although no one was injured, the scene of the accident quickly turned into a flea market.

“Get back! Get back!”

The military and police tried to control the situation, but the people were so focused on the fish that they wouldn’t listen.

I quickly headed towards the Mermaid Queen’s palanquin.

Jinman, Bomi, and others had already launched a surprise attack.

After subduing the guards, he climbed into the palanquin and tried to drag the Mermaid Queen out.

“Who are you? How insolent. How dare a human touch the body of this queen?”

The mermaid queen lay face down on the tank, waving her arms to keep herself from being dragged out.

Jinman, who had thrown himself into the tank, only turned on the water.

The soldiers are distracted by the flat tire incident, but they will soon notice the situation in the palanquin.

I broke the tank with the golden shield.

The queen was poured out of the tank along with the water.

Jinman quickly caught the queen, tied her up with a rope, and carried her on his back.

At the sound of the tank breaking, several soldiers turned around and approached.

But Bomi used her bow to silence them.

“This way.”

Jinwoo ran carrying the mermaid queen on his back.

Bomi and I watched the enemy’s movements from the rear in preparation for pursuit.

We moved quickly, following Hyunwoo’s father’s guidance.

As we turned around to the back of the capsized fishing boat, we were completely concealed.

Hyunwoo’s father said that he went all around the trash island looking for scraps, and he led us to the perfect escape route.

Still, we had to run fast.

It was because the Mermaid Queen shouted loudly.

“What are you guys? You can’t put me down right now! If you don’t, I’ll drag you down to the deep sea and hold you there until all the air in your lungs leaves you. No, I’ll have you eaten to death by all sorts of deep sea monsters.”

The mermaid queen, who had been spewing curses, suddenly screamed.

“ouch!”

“Oh! That won’t work. In the movies, if you hit someone’s neck with the blade of your hand, they’ll pass out.”

Bomi muttered, looking at her own hand behind the Mermaid Queen.

“Just muzzle him.”

“Wait. Wait. I’ll be quiet, so don’t bite! Mermaids have different respiratory organs than uncivilized humans. If you bite the gag wrong, you could die.”

At my instruction, the Mermaid Queen urgently dissuaded me.

I knew to avoid the areas behind the ears where the gills are and the philtrum, since I had seen the diagram of a mermaid’s body structure in the Aquatic Monster Guide.

He approached her and gagged her with a towel, avoiding her ears and philtrum.

“Okay, now. Can you breathe?”

The Mermaid Queen nodded with a surprised expression.

We moved to a shallow hill overlooking the Capitol Building, our planned location.

The Capitol had half its dome broken off, and its columns were partially erected, as if their front teeth were missing.

Even that was tilted.

The condition of the buildings that washed up on Trash Island was all similar, so it wasn’t particularly impressive.

Rather, the Namsan Tower erected in the back caught my eye.

He said he would set it up again, and it was standing almost at a right angle, so it must have been successful.

However, the reason the height appears to have decreased like a pencil is probably because the base of the tower has broken.

Still, at about 15 stories high, it was the tallest building on the garbage island.

Jinman, exhausted from carrying the Mermaid Queen on his back, asked panting.

“Huh. There’s no sign. Should the Navy attack? Should we fire off the firecrackers to start the operation now?”

“Sir. The troops over there are moving. They seem to have noticed that we have kidnapped the Mermaid Queen. I think it would be better for Jinman to start the operation quickly, just like my brother said.”

As Bomi said, the moving unit was visible.

But everyone else was enjoying the festival.

It seemed like they were performing on a stage set up in front of the National Assembly building.

Through the telescope, I could see the leaders watching the performance from backstage.

Is that guy the governor?

In the middle, a man sitting on a gilded chair that resembled a throne caught my eye.

I thought he was just saying that because he’s the enemy, he looks like he hates everyone, but he really is a snake.

A thin mouth with slitted eyes, a sharp jawline that looks like it might protrude, and a narrow forehead.

If I opened my mouth, it seemed like a forked snake’s tongue would come out.

Should we just storm the Capitol building?

If I could just catch them all, I could finish this in one go.

Then there would be no need to see unnecessary blood.

But as if they knew this would happen, the military was protecting the National Assembly building tightly.

It seemed like I couldn’t even get close unless it fell from the sky.

At that moment, ‘Boom! Boom!’ the sound of a cannon rang out.

Hey! Who shot that?

The moment I thought about it, explosions occurred here and there and fires rose up.

People were startled and started running away.

The streets, including the area in front of the concert hall, became a battlefield.

As the road became blocked, people fled in all directions.

“Are you in the Navy?”

Jinman asked in surprise.

I nodded and frowned.

I never thought you’d shoot a cannon at Trash Island?

The direction in which the shells were flying was the area where the current was at its narrowest.

It seemed likely that the cannons were fired outside the tidal waters.

They say they inherited the Republic of Korea, but the people don’t seem to care.

I don’t like the fact that they attacked the apartment, and the Navy guys.

Surprised by the power of the shell, Bomi covered her head.

“Shouldn’t we run away too?”

“It’ll be okay. As I see, the Navy’s artillery fire is aimed at places where people gather. Our location won’t be the target. If we move rashly, we could end up in trouble.”

Boom! Boom!

The naval bombardment was responded to here and there on the trash island.

The defense force operated artillery batteries to prepare for external attacks.

The entire arsenal of the Logistics Support Command was washed up on Trash Island, so there were plenty of shells.

People behind the stage hurriedly entered the Capitol building.

The Capitol building looks like it could collapse if a single shell hits it, so why are they taking refuge there?

Is there something like a trench underground?

No, there can’t be a trench.

There must be an ocean underneath. And there must be a rough current flowing through there. What’s going on?

A crematorium by any chance?

A flash of thought occurred to me and I untied the Mermaid Queen’s gag and asked.

“Isn’t there a crematorium under the National Assembly building?”

“Oh, how did you know?”

The Mermaid Queen asked back, her eyes wide open as if a secret had been revealed.

“I don’t know about that. Are people trying to hide in the hatchery by going into the Capitol under fire?”

“Oh. There is a space in the hatchery where humans can be.”

“Is it because of the priestess?”

The Mermaid Queen’s eyes grew wide as if they were going to tear apart.

“How about you?”

“I told you. You don’t need to know that.”

It has become clear that Jiyeon is under the National Assembly building.

Bomi, excited by the Mermaid Queen’s words, said as if she was going to run over at any moment.

“Sir! Let’s go rescue Jiyeon right now.”

“Wait. Let’s move after the shelling ends and check the situation.”

The Mermaid Queen suddenly burst into laughter at my answer.

“Haha! Are you a detective? And the girl next to you is the priestess’ friend?”

I was surprised.

Bomi also asked back with her eyes wide open.

“You! What? How did you know?”

“The priestess said that the detective and his friend would come to save him.”

Jiyeon believed my promise.

Something hot welled up in my chest.

Bomi must have felt something hot, because her face was grimacing so much that it looked ugly.

“Let’s go and save him quickly, sir!”

“But how can this be? The priestess won’t be able to save him.”

The Mermaid Queen said sarcastically.

“What do you mean? If you don’t tell me straight, I’ll rip a hole in your throat.”

An enraged Bomi took an arrow in her hand and aimed it at the Mermaid Queen’s neck.

I grabbed Bomi’s hand and pulled her down.

If the Mermaid Queen dies here, she will lose control of the mermaids.

“Tell me. Why can’t I get it?”

The Mermaid Queen stroked her neck.

“They say they’re going to kill me, so why should I tell them?”

“Because if you don’t tell me, I’ll die.”

I snatched the arrow from Bomi’s hand and held it up.

“Okay, I’ll tell you. A few days ago, the priestess suddenly disappeared.”

“Disappear? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know either. We had to hatch the eggs, but there was no priestess, so we were in chaos and protested to the Ark Church, asking what was going on. But they just told us to wait.”

Disappearing? What happened?

Could it be that the Governor-General murdered Jiyeon?

Commissioner Son said that seeing the members of the Bangju Church disappearing without a sound seemed to indicate that there was a power struggle going on within the Bangju Church.

“Delay, no, are you sure the priestess has disappeared?”

“Oh. They completely disappeared from Trash Island. So we just took the eggs out of the hatchery.”

“So where is the priestess? No, is the priestess alive?”

“I told you. I don’t know.”

“Then who knows?”

“Well, wouldn’t the Governor know?”

The Mermaid Queen shrugged and answered.

Then, should we proceed with the original plan to capture the governor?

I took out the firecracker.