Chapter 673
Chapter 673
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine!”
Zeon gave an apologetic smile at Brielle’s worried question.
The price of erecting a diamond wall stretching five kilometers had been severe.
His mental strength had been completely exhausted, leaving him groaning in pain throughout the entire night.
Only because it was Zeon had it ended with nothing more than a miserable night. If anyone else had pushed themselves to that extent, they would have collapsed from exhaustion and died.
Had Lemura not come the previous night and continuously healed him, he would have suffered for much longer.
Thanks to Lemura, his body had completely recovered, but his mind still felt hazy.
Even so, a smile lingered on Zeon’s lips.
Though he had paid a terrible price, what he had gained was by no means insignificant.
The first was the enormous wall standing on the outskirts of Sinchon.
A wall made of black diamond.
Strictly speaking, it was not real diamond.
It was merely a carbon crystal forcibly created through Zeon’s authority. Even so, its hardness rivaled that of genuine diamond.
With that level of durability, it should be able to withstand the monsters’ assault to some extent.
If it were up to him, he would have built diamond walls around the entire outskirts of the slums, but even that was beyond Zeon’s limits.
The second thing Zeon had gained was an increase in his Dominion.
Until now, Zeon had almost never exhausted his Dominion and mental strength to the very limit.
He had always fought with cold calculation, leaving himself some reserve in preparation for the worst-case scenario.
There had been a few battles where he had come close to emptying himself, but this was the first time in years he had been completely drained.
Because of that, he had realized something.
‘Once I emptied it completely, it filled again. And it became stronger than before…’
The Dominion that had returned was far greater and denser than before.
Even with the same amount of Dominion, it could now exert far greater power.
In theory, repeating this process could accelerate the growth of his Dominion.
But Zeon knew it wasn’t nearly as simple as it sounded.
Since the vessel containing his Dominion had expanded so rapidly, it needed time to stabilize.
Only by properly tempering it now could he use his Dominion without it becoming unstable.
It would take quite some time before it was fully stabilized.
“How’s the situation?”
“It’s not looking very good. The Mana Stone Mine is under attack by monsters.”
“They’ve already reached the Mana Stone Mine?”
“That’s why so many awakened have been dispatched there.”
“It must be chaos.”
“All of Neo Seoul has entered wartime preparations.”
Under Mayor Jin Geum-ho’s orders, Neo Seoul had entered a full wartime state.
Every factory had begun producing military supplies, and every awakened had been forcibly mobilized.
Every district cooperated without exception.
Everyone understood that this was no time to quarrel over personal interests.
Neo Seoul had to survive before anyone could think about pursuing profit.
The public and private sectors alike had joined forces to overcome this crisis.
“The districts have sent their elites to the Mana Stone Mine. Steel Fortress has sent reinforcements too.”
“What about Steel Fortress? Is it alright?”
“Fortunately, there isn’t even a trace of monsters there. That’s why they were able to send so many troops here.”
“That’s good.”
Zeon finally let out a sigh of relief.
What worried him most at the moment was the possibility of multiple battlefronts opening at once.
If the fighting remained confined to the Mana Stone Mine and Neo Seoul, they could still manage.
But if battle spread to the Primordial Forest or Steel Fortress as well, deploying their forces would become extremely difficult.
“What about World Tree Village?”
“Lord Arisedon is there.”
“That’s true.”
Zeon nodded.
Arisedon, guardian of World Tree Village, was a being equal to a dragon.
Even when he had still been an Imugi before becoming a dragon, he had treated S-rank monsters as insignificant.
Now that he had evolved into a true dragon, there were almost no beings in the world capable of defeating Arisedon.
At most, only Raykas could pose a threat to him.
And Arisedon was protecting World Tree Village.
No matter how fearless the monsters had become, they would never dare approach a village under Arisedon’s protection.
Zeon stood up and put on his robe.
“You’re going out?”
“Yeah. I need to check the situation outside.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Alright.”
The two walked outside together.
“Lord Zeon! Thank you!”
“Thank you so much!”
The people of the slums greeted Zeon one after another the moment they saw him.
Zeon looked puzzled by their unexpected reaction.
“Hm?”
“Thanks to the diamond wall you built, our district is much safer now. Thank you so much.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Zeon understand why everyone was treating him this way.
These were the people directly exposed to the threat of the monsters.
If Neo Seoul’s defensive line fell, they would be the first to become victims.
For them, the massive wall Zeon had built provided enough psychological reassurance.
That was why everyone who saw him expressed their gratitude.
A faint smile appeared on Zeon’s lips.
It made him feel that what he had done had not been in vain.
In the distance, the diamond wall came into view.
Countless workers were installing weapons atop it.
He could also see awakened ones and researchers gathered together, discussing how to make the most effective use of the wall.
Elves and other races were there as well.
People who, in the past, would never have left the Northern District were now voluntarily working together because Neo Seoul was in danger.
Seeing them, Zeon found great hope.
Once this crisis passed, Neo Seoul would become larger and stronger than ever.
At that moment, Brielle lightly nudged Zeon’s arm.
“Look over there.”
“Hm?”
Zeon turned toward where she was pointing.
Two men were walking toward them.
One was an ordinary-built man wearing a black robe, and the other was a young boy.
The moment he saw them, Zeon recognized them immediately.
“Damho... Jetoya!”
The two who were supposed to be inside City Hall’s prison had appeared outside.
They also spotted Zeon and Brielle and walked straight over.
Damho slightly raised his head and looked at Zeon.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“The same goes for me.”
“I heard you built that wall.”
“Yes.”
“Remarkable. First you built a lighthouse so I could find my way here, and now you’ve built a massive wall to give the people of this district hope.”
“I simply did the best I could within my abilities.”
“There’s no need to be so modest. You’re the most remarkable person I’ve ever met.”
“By the way, how did you get out of prison?”
Embarrassed by the praise, Zeon changed the subject.
“I was granted leave.”
“Leave?”
“Yes. This brat has been given a good opportunity.”
Damho patted Jetoya on the shoulder.
Jetoya’s face was unnaturally pale.
Apparently, Damho had already warned him beforehand.
Unable to say it aloud, Jetoya kept shaking his head at Zeon, silently pleading with him to stop Damho.
Seeing Jetoya’s reaction, Zeon sensed that something was off.
“What do you mean by a good opportunity?”
“Would you like to come with us?”
“To where?”
“The Mana Stone Mine.”
“What? Why there?”
“You’ll understand once you get there.”
“Then let’s go together. I was planning to check on the Mana Stone Mine anyway.”
Since he had intended to visit the mine regardless, Zeon readily accepted Damho’s proposal.
Brielle poked Jetoya in the side and whispered,
“What’s with your face?”
“My master has gone crazy.”
“Master?”
“Yes. It means the same thing as teacher. But that’s not the important part...”
Just then, Damho cut Jetoya off.
“That’s enough talking. Let’s go.”
“Y-Yes...”
Jetoya lowered his head with a dejected expression.
Unable to understand his reaction, Brielle tilted her head.
She whispered to Zeon,
“What’s wrong with Jetoya?”
“I don’t know. I suppose we’ll find out once we get to the Mana Stone Mine.”
Zeon led Damho and the others to the portal.
Looking at it with fascination, Damho muttered,
“To think this doorway connects different spaces... Had I not experienced it myself, I would never have believed it.”
Since he had already used the portal when traveling from Steel Fortress to Neo Seoul, he had no doubts about its authenticity.
He was simply curious about the principle behind it.
But now was hardly the time to study such things.
Something far more important awaited him.
“Let’s go.”
Zeon and Brielle entered the portal first, followed by Damho and Jetoya.
With a dizzying sensation of weightlessness, they were transported to the Mana Stone Mine in an instant.
“Waaaah!”
“Die!”
The first thing that greeted them was the awakened ones shouting at the top of their lungs.
On top of the wall, awakened ones were fighting off the monsters climbing up while screaming at full volume.
—ROOOAR!
—KRAAA!
Added to that were the beasts’ roars, making the entire battlefield resemble complete chaos.
The awakened ones held back the monsters with weapons and skills, while inside the wall, those who had already fought were receiving treatment or resting.
The awakened ones recovering their strength by drinking potions and eating meals all wore resolute expressions.
Their comrades who had been holding the line had been wounded or killed.
Having witnessed the gruesome deaths of their companions right before their eyes, the awakened ones’ faces were filled with vengeance.
They looked as though they had no intention of retreating until every monster charging toward the Mana Stone Mine had been slain.
A smile suddenly appeared on Damho’s lips.
“Excellent.”
The heat pouring from the people, the smell of sweat, the roars of the monsters, even the scent of blood—it was all perfect.
The madness of the battlefield flowed through this place.
For powerhouses like Damho or Zeon, this level of madness had no effect.
But it was different for greenhorns like Jetoya.
Having no resistance to such scenes yet, they could easily be consumed by the madness and lose themselves.
In fact, some of the awakened fighting atop the wall had already lost their reason and were rampaging.
Most of them were inexperienced or low-rank awakened.
The veteran high-rank awakened remained calm, resisting the battlefield's madness.
Damho firmly believed that a martial artist had to grow in an environment like this.
He held out his hand to Jetoya.
“Take my hand.”
“Master?”
“Hurry.”
“Yes!”
After hesitating, Jetoya finally took Damho’s hand.
The moment he did, Damho kicked off the ground.
Holding Jetoya’s hand, Damho leaped over the wall of the Mana Stone Mine and landed in the middle of the monster horde in an instant.
“Ah!”
Startled, Brielle hurried up onto the wall.
Zeon followed behind her with a slight shake of his head.
When Damho had said he wanted to come here, Zeon had expected something like this.
He just hadn’t expected Damho to act so quickly.
—KRAAA!
—KYAA!
The monsters charged the moment humans suddenly appeared in the middle of their ranks.
Jetoya looked at Damho with a deathly pale face.
“M-Master?”
“Fight.”
Damho answered indifferently, his hands clasped behind his back.
The monsters rushed toward him, intending to tear him apart.
The price was devastating.
BOOM! BANG!
The invisible current flowing around Damho’s body engulfed them, causing them to explode.
Countless monsters died in an instant.
Without changing his expression, Damho said,
“This is the ideal environment for your growth. So stop whining like a child and fight. The Dokhaeng Style is completed only on the battlefield.”