Chapter 156: Green Your Rivers and Mountains, Green Again, 3
"Have you arrived, Lord Leader Cheon?"
"Yes, you've been through a lot."
The researchers affiliated with the Mountain Guild bowed their heads and stood in formation to greet Cheon Dana.
In recognition of their hard work, Cheon Dana personally invited all of them to the Mountain Guild’s castle.
However, the research director felt uneasy.
To him, Cheon Dana was not only the benefactor who funded their research, but also a person who could bury everyone here underground at any moment if she so wished.
Of course, in situations like this, survival meant aligning with that woman, Cheon Dana.
The welcome banquet had been going on for quite some time.
The prepared food, the luxurious gift sets, and even the envelopes stuffed with cash brought joy to the researchers, who bowed their heads to the lord of Shanxi Province.
The banquet was so grand that not only Cheon Dana, but also branch managers and high-ranking officials who had reached S-rank were gathered there.
‘...Isn’t that Bai Weishen and Wang Soyeong, who were said to be missing?’
I heard they went missing in Korea, so when did they return?
No, they weren’t missing.
There had even been rumors that their bodies were found, yet here they were, alive.
The director was confused but tried his best to maintain a neutral expression.
Cheon Dana.
That cunning, wicked woman, like a nine-tailed fox, would devour him the moment he showed any weakness.
"Come to think of it, Director. I heard some rather sad news."
"Y-yes?!"
"Unfortunately, the Silver Knight seems to have officially become hostile toward our Shanxi Province. Although they didn’t touch the research labs approved by the Party, I heard that all other research facilities were attacked and destroyed by unknown forces."
"T-That’s correct..."
The research director bowed his head in response to Cheon Dana’s words.
"By the way... how many were destroyed?"
"Yes! There were a total of 27 locations hit by the Silver Knight’s bombardment, including all above-ground labs and their connected underground facilities!"
As one of the high-ranking officials next to Cheon Dana gave a thunderous report, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Hahahaha, it seems they visited all the labs captured by satellite. Our influence also extends to the South Korean government, so why am I only now hearing about this?"
As the largest and wealthiest guild in the world, it was hard to find a place the Mountain Guild hadn’t reached.
Naturally, the Mountain Guild had informants and spies within the South Korean government and several major guilds, so if Yeonseo had attacked the guild’s labs with the government’s help, Cheon Dana could have prepared in advance.
But since there was no time to react, and those massive research facilities were destroyed so quickly, it meant that Yeonseo had known their locations from the start.
"Fufu, it seems the Silver Knight is very angry."
How furious must she have been to meticulously destroy the labs without leaving a trace, and without rest?
What was remarkable was how, despite this rampage, no civilians were harmed; she had been incredibly careful with her destructive precision. But regardless, from Cheon Dana's perspective, losing 27 research facilities was unfortunate.
"I don’t care about losing the researchers or equipment, but losing the shards is a bit troublesome."
Not every lab had shards, but it was true that a considerable number of shards had been lost.
"My apologies. It seems there is a hidden backer supporting the Silver Knight."
"Oh? So, Commander Oh-seong thinks that, does he? Director?"
"Y-yes!"
"What do you think, Director?"
"...H-how would I know? I’m just a researcher under your support, not a Hunter..."
However, Cheon Dana didn’t like the research director’s answer and lightly moved her fingers as if she were playing the piano.
"Gasp?!"
At that moment, the director felt as if his chest was about to burst.
Though his chest was physically fine, he felt as if his body had filled with a giant fireball.
"Do you know what role the heart plays? I’m sure someone like you, with more education than me and holding a PhD, would know that much."
Thump, thump, thump!
"...Ku...kuh!"
"Oh dear, seems it’s difficult for you to answer."
Cheon Dana chuckled and lightly pushed the director’s shoulder.
Although she didn’t apply any real force, the research director collapsed to the ground, struggling desperately to breathe.
"The heart, at its core, pumps blood throughout the body or sends it to the lungs."
Laughing as she mentioned that it had been over 20 years since she left school, Cheon Dana smiled.
Though she wasn’t as old as that hilarious grandma, she was starting to feel her age.
"Well, there’s the left atrium, the right atrium, and the delicate balance of the atria and ventricles... but unfortunately, I’m not very knowledgeable about medicine."
"Pl...please...forg...iv...me..."
"But there is one thing I do know."
At that moment, blood began to flow from the director’s eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
"When a person has about six hearts, they die spewing out all the fluids from every hole in their body, like those dumplings the chef at our Shanxi castle serves every Thursday."
"Wh-why... why..."
Though Cheon Dana was crazy and psychopathic, she wasn’t the type to kill an innocent person just because they annoyed her.
She had a twisted personality, but she wasn’t the type to kill talented individuals recklessly and disrupt the administrative system or research chain.
"What did... I do... wrong..."
"Why? Why, you ask... hehehe, you know better than anyone else."
"...Wh-what...?"
Looking at him with pity, as if he were an ant beneath her shoe, Cheon Dana gazed down at the director.
"Did you think I wouldn’t know that you sold information to the Silver Knight?"
"...!!"
"Oh, you didn’t know? Then let me tell you now. I knew from the very beginning that you were a rat. Wasn’t it the Vice Minister of the South Korean Hunter Association? You were quite close with him. Although that vice minister had no ties to the Mountain Guild... I recently learned he was quite close to the Silver Knight."
How did she know...?
"There’s a saying in Shanxi Province: ‘There are rats living inside the walls.’ It means to beware of the rats that gnaw at the unseen pillars of the house, day and night. It’s a reminder to be cautious of what you say, whether in the day or the night."
'Damn, where did the leak come from...? A contact? No, could it have been from Korea? Or was I under surveillance from the start...'
And I really hate rats.
Smiling slyly, Cheon Dana patted the research director’s head and handed him a white envelope.
While the other researchers had received red envelopes stuffed with cash, the fact that only the director was handed a white one meant that Cheon Dana had no intention of letting him live from the start.
In China, white envelopes were used to hold money for the dead.
Her gesture of handing over the envelope was utterly natural.
"Don’t worry. I’ll tell your family that you died with pride as a member of the Mountain Guild, protecting the research lab from the Silver Knight’s spatial bombardment. Your son is a Hunter too, isn’t he? I’m sure he’ll want to avenge his father by joining the guild."
"You... damned... crazy... woman..."
Pssh!
With those final words, the research director collapsed, bleeding from every hole in his body, never to rise again.
The other researchers glanced at the fallen director, but even though their superior had been brutally killed, none of them reacted.
It was understandable.
The ones who had reported the director were the researchers closest to him.
Cheon Dana, having cleaned out the internal rat, lightly patted the deputy director standing behind the fallen director with some documents in hand.
"Well, you’re the new research director. I expect you to work hard."
"Thank you, Lord Leader."
Having dealt with the internal rat, Cheon Dana sat comfortably in the highest seat, as if this was familiar to her.
The body that had been quartered by Yeonseo just a while ago was as flawless as ever, and the supposedly missing Bai Weishen and Wang Soyeong were filling their positions as officials as if nothing had happened.
"Speaking of which, a command has come from the Party."
At Cheon Dana’s words, all the officials turned their attention to her.
The Party.
The Chinese government.
Though they were pathetic fools, the Mountain Guild was nominally under the Party’s control.
Of course, as the top guild in the world, they would usually ignore or brush off unreasonable demands, but since Cheon Dana had mentioned a command, it must be quite significant.
"They want us to deal with the Elves."
At Cheon Dana’s words, the officials’ faces stiffened.
"Do you mean the Elves that appeared in the Gobi Desert?"
"They already have a nickname, ‘Kan-ff,’ circulating around."
"Is this an official request?"
"It’s an order. An unpaid one, at that."
"How dare they! Even though it's the Party, isn’t this outright disrespect toward Lord Leader and the Mountain Guild?!"
"They’re asking a guild to do a job without any compensation? And they even dare to issue a command to our Lord Leader? Are they begging to die?"
As each official voiced their opinion, Cheon Dana smirked and spoke.
"Well, judge for yourselves after seeing this."
At her words, the drones in standby flew
up into the air and played a video.
In the hologram, an Elf with blonde hair, a voluptuous body, and a gentle expression appeared.
[We know what your malicious intentions are within the Great Forest.]
[Therefore, we have no intention of opening the doors of our home, the Great Forest, to brigands like you.]
[This is our final warning.]
[Do not open the gates to our home, our sanctuary, and the place filled with our memories.]
[But if you still intend to open it,]
[As a child of the World Tree, in the name of the Elves, you will pay a corresponding price.]
[If I borrow the words of our lovely little Olga…]
The previously gentle Elf’s demeanor shifted in an instant.
Her green eyes twisted into a red hue, and her gaze, like a predator's, turned ferocious.
['Come in, and you’ll die, you bastards.']
[Now, I trust you won’t be foolish enough to misunderstand this simple warning.]
The drone finished playing the video.
"Huh, I heard from a contact in Public Security that the Party got utterly crushed by the Elves... At first, I thought it was a lie, but it seems to be true."
"So that’s why access to the Gobi Desert has been restricted."
"That Elf looks pretty hot, but she has quite the temper."
Listening to the officials’ remarks, Cheon Dana took a sip of tea.
They didn’t particularly care if the Chinese government was humiliated or fell into ruin.
What mattered most to Cheon Dana and the officials was the safety and interests of Shanxi Province and the Mountain Guild.
"Normally, I would have ignored this... but it seems the Elves really upset the Party."
"What will you do, Lord Leader?"
"Of course, I won’t give a damn about orders or anything like that. While there are some benefits to ruling over the Elves, I’d rather go have a cup of tea than deal with them. However..."
Cheon Dana placed the white envelope she had handed the research director earlier into the candle on the table and continued.
"I hear there’s a shard in the Great Forest."
"...!"
The officials gasped at the mention of the shard.
It wasn’t the original, but it was clear there was a completely new shard there.
"Though it’s not the original, I plan to go there myself. Besides, I’ve collected quite a bit of data on the Silver Knight."
While 27 above-ground research facilities were destroyed, Cheon Dana and her forces hadn’t been idle.
Although there were numerous restrictions and conditions, they had made enough progress to experiment with spatial movement, akin to Yeonseo’s abilities.
Of course, while Yeonseo could snap her fingers and instantly travel to the other side of the world, replicating her spatial movement in the Mountain Guild required a massive budget and equipment. Even then, it was a one-time use.
"We will select participants immediately. Those without any conflicting schedules will come along."
"Yes!!"
"Lord Leader, please allow us—me and Hunter Bai Weishen—a chance as well!"
"You two will stay behind."
"W-why...!"
Bai Weishen and Wang Soyeong had already disappointed Cheon Dana once.
Despite being given another chance, their faces filled with despair at the realization that they couldn’t repay the favor.
"It’ll take another 15 days for your bodies to properly settle. If you come along now, you’ll only be a hindrance. First, focus on stabilizing your bodies."
"...Understood."
"As you command."
"Now, let’s move out."
As Cheon Dana rose from her seat, the other officials followed suit, their expressions grim.
Every official in this room possessed the strength to take on a thousand enemies alone.
Cheon Dana hadn’t appointed these officials randomly. The officials of the world’s top-ranked Hunter Guild naturally had exceptional abilities.
If this force were to reach the Great Forest of the Elves, it was highly likely the Elves wouldn’t survive unscathed.
○○○○
And shortly after, using a device that replicated Yeonseo’s abilities, the Mountain Guild instantly reached the Great Forest located in the Gobi Desert, where they were confronted with an enormous forest beyond human comprehension.
Though it had never been officially documented by the government, they had now witnessed firsthand the fact that the Elves had turned 30% of the Gobi Desert into a forest.
"Haha, to think I’d be doing this kind of work at my age because of the Silver Knight."
"Lord Leader, if you had given the command, we would have handled it..."
"I didn’t particularly like the idea of some foreign substances on Earth having the audacity to command humans. Besides, I figured it was a good chance to stretch my legs."
Though Cheon Dana spoke lightly with a smile, the research labs on the surface had either been half-destroyed or completely wiped out. The shards in their possession had also disappeared, presumably taken by Yeonseo.
The primary reason the Mountain Guild had maintained its position as the top guild in the world was, after all, thanks to the influence of the shards.
Now that they had lost what they had and failed to acquire new shards, they had no choice but to seek new solutions.
With Cheon Dana leading them, the Mountain Guild advanced through the vast forest and various obstacles as if they were nothing, eventually reaching the gate.
The terrain was rough, and the trees seemed to intentionally block Cheon Dana’s path, but there were no Elves in sight, and no one from the Mountain Guild had fallen behind or been injured by the time they reached their destination.
Even if the Elves had directly confronted them, it wouldn’t have mattered.
The people present were Cheon Dana and the top forces of the Mountain Guild.
No matter what the Elves did, they could easily be crushed by sheer force.
"There’s no need to consider the Party’s stance, but we must retrieve the Demon King's shard."
As they passed through the twisted green gate, they were greeted by yet another vast forest.
"Should we just burn it all down?"
"That wouldn’t be a bad idea... Wait."
Just as they were about to make the decision to burn down the forest that had been blocking their path, Cheon Dana’s eyes turned to a large clearing beyond the trees.
It had been a dense forest just moments ago, but suddenly, a vast field had opened up.
"Corn...?"
For some reason, there was a cornfield full of ripe ears of corn.
Cheon Dana tilted her head in confusion at the sudden sight of a cornfield.
Why was there a cornfield in a place like this...?
●●●●●
"Oh, they really came in despite being warned not to..."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Olga?"
"Just a moment, Shia unnie."
Pluck, pluck, PIIIIIII!
Suddenly, Olga, with a small leaf in her mouth, blew it like a whistle.
Although it was just for a brief moment, the sound from the leaf-whistle echoed like a ripple.
"It’s done now. It’s triggered."
"What is?"
As Shia tilted her head in confusion, Olga smiled brightly.
"Nothing! I just exchanged peace for corn!"
"Really? If it’s nothing, then... well, let’s sprinkle some pepper and garlic powder on this sheep leg."
"Yes, yes! Garlic powder sounds good!"
"Menelapie! Bring me another skewer of the Hero’s meat!"
"Just a moment."
Thud!
—"Gwuueeeck!"
On that day, along with the scream of Sheep Lani, the Mountain Guild received three gifts of "Your Vast Green Mountains."