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***Back to the present, inside the rattling military truck.Darulma felt a mix of admiration and astonishment once he realized that Yeomyeong had actually managed to digest the crystal in just three days.It wasn’t just that the elixir was inside his body—Cheon Yeomyeong, that young mercenary, had absorbed it in the truest sense.After all, wasn’t the duel that took place just before their departure was proof of that?How could that novice mercenary who fabricated his resume cut off the arms of a veteran mercenary with over ten years of experience that neatly? It was something that was difficult to believe even when seen with one’s own eyes.Well, at the very least, it takes someone of that caliber to grab the attention of the Saintess.Darulma glanced at the Saintess, who was chattering beside Yeomyeong, and licked his lips.According to their original plan, the World Tree\'s crystal was meant to be used as a bribe that would help them form a connection with the high-ranking officials of the Holy Nation through the Saintess.That was the original intention of the elders of the Dune clan. However, it was only due to Darulma’s unilateral decision that things had turned out this way.But...Watching the Saintess and Yeomyeong, who were chattering affectionately, it didn’t seem to be a bad choice.At the very least, he was certain that it was better to give it to someone more deserving than those stubborn old folks of the Holy Nation.The elders of the family would certainly throw him into a pepper gas chamber, saying something about ‘Yellow Winter’ if they found out about this, but that didn’t matter much.Above all, there was something he could trust.By some chance, even the smallest possibility, if that guy manages to become the Saintess’ lover...?Then it would really be a huge win.It wasn’t something that was completely impossible.Just like her father did, the Saintess might also end up choosing love over duty.Moreover, unlike the holy sword, blessings bestowed by the gods could not be taken away by the priests of the Holy Nation.Perhaps giving the World Tree\'s crystal to that boy might turn out to be the best investment of his life...?But that’s something to think about after this expedition succeeds.Darulma, who was busy delving into his happy thoughts, sighed and turned back to reality.The expedition had just begun, and there was still a long way to go before they could succeed.He stood up and looked out the back of the truck. Although they could still see the scavengers coveting the dragon\'s rib bones beyond the horizon, the Manchurian base was no longer in sight.That should be good enough. Now then, should he get started?“Alright, everyone, your attention please!”Darulma gathered everyone’s attention with his characteristic deep voice. The mercenaries led by Captain Kwon and Kim Mansoo, along with the Saintess and Yeomyeong, all looked at him.“Firstly, I must apologize. As originally stated, this mission is not simply about finding treasure.”Darulma took a short breath and spoke with a meaningful tone.“We are going to prevent the downfall of Manchuria.”Some mercenaries chuckled, thinking he was joking, but upon seeing Captain Kwon’s serious expression, they all shut their mouths.Once he confirmed that all eyes were on him, Darulma cleared his throat and continued.“You might remember the time when Stalin invaded the dwarven territory. He spread poison gas, massacred those who did not surrender, and dragged the survivors to the gulags... That inhumane war.”Some were puzzled by the sudden history lesson, but Yeomyeong was different. He listened to Darulma’s words attentively.“A certain dwarf who witnessed that war sought revenge against Stalin and the Soviet Union. Blood for blood. Hatred for hatred. It was a foolish thought, but he carried it out.”Once Darulma reached this point in the story, Tian Lin raised his hand.As the only Manchurian among the mercenaries, he asked with a confused look on his face.“If he was trying to take revenge on Stalin, why was he targeting Manchuria?”“…Back then, dwarves assumed that all Earthians were the same. Since the UN ignored them, while some communist countries allied themselves with the Soviets to plunder our land, it was a somewhat reasonable perspective.”“Huh!”Reasonable, huh? As Tian Lin let out a snort of disbelief, Darulma added.“In any case, his revenge ultimately failed because before he could take action, the Soviet Union collapsed and Stalin had disappeared.”Darulma thought back to the time when the Soviet Union collapsed as countless dwarves gaped at the news in shock.What was the reason the dwarves built their companies on Earth despite all the disdain they faced? *Revenge—*it was the dwarves’ one and only long-cherished desire.However, the Soviet Union had fallen by itself, and Stalin was nowhere to be found.Countless dwarves, who had lost their purpose, despaired in their hollow victory. Darulma’s father was one of those dwarves, so there was no need to elaborate further…“…So, how exactly did he plan to destroy Manchuria?”It was Yeomyeong who interrupted Darulma’s thoughts.“Dwarves were not in possession of nuclear weapons, were they?”“We didn’t have nuclear weapons nor napalm¹. Instead, we had something similar in nature to nuclear weapons.”“…Something similar to nuclear weapons?”“The Golden Seal.”Seeing Yeomyeong fold his arms as if demanding an explanation, Darulma spoke in a serious tone.“…It is a symbol of the ancient dwarven royal family. It’s a token of leadership among dwarves and one of the powerful magic items in the possession of the dwarves.”The moment they heard the term \'magic item,\' the mercenaries all frowned in unison as one of the three major taboos in the mercenary industry came to mind.However, regardless of the mercenaries’ thoughts, Darulma continued with his explanation.“The Golden Seal is a magic item that contains the legend of the first dwarven king, who dug out a mountain to create an underground tunnel. When infused with magic, it casts a spell that automatically digs through the earth.”Digging the earth? How was that going to be used to destroy Manchuria?The mercenaries tilted their heads, but they frowned on hearing the next words.“What do you think would happen if you dig an underground tunnel through a volcano? And what would happen if you were to connect one volcano to another?”“…”“The vengeful dwarf planned to create a massive corridor by connecting all the volcanoes in Manchuria. From the Greater Khingan² to Baekdu Mountain³. He was preparing for a massive chain explosion.”Only then did the mercenaries’ expressions harden once the seriousness of the situation dawned upon them.“…Is that even feasible?”“It could be possible or it could not. Even though the Golden Seal is a great magic item, no one has ever attempted something like that before.”“Then…”Wouldn’t it be better to just leave it alone? But before the mercenaries could finish their thoughts, Darulma interrupted them.“What if it’s possible? After all, that dwarf brought the Golden Seal to this land decades ago. So, it wouldn’t even be surprising if Baekdu Mountain and the Khingan Mountain Range erupted simultaneously tomorrow.”The story may have sounded unrealistic, but that made it even easier to imagine.What if all the dormant volcanoes in Manchuria and the surrounding regions erupted simultaneously?As if in agreement, everyone in the truck fell silent at once.Whispered the Saintess, breaking the silence that had settled in the truck. It was an assured statement from the girl with the blessing of Foresight.Yeomyeong frowned involuntarily and responded.“…It sounds like you’re saying it will erupt eventually.”“Of course it will. But it won’t lead to an apocalypse. Just a few million people in Manchuria will die, and perhaps the volcanic ash will cause astronomical damage to the economies of Korea and Japan?”“…”“After that, Korea will lose control over Manchuria and be forced to block the Amnok River. Manchuria will then become a hunting ground for Superhumans.”Her words were a blatant display of her Foresight abilities. Yeomyeong squinted and glanced at the other mercenaries.Fortunately, it seemed like no one else had heard the Saintess’ whisper.“…It sounds plausible. Did the gods tell you this?”Pretending not to know about the Saintess’ Foresight, Yeomyeong responded rather indifferently.Was it a mistake? He didn’t know what she was thinking by revealing her Foresight to him, but he judged that it would be more courteous to pretend not to know in this situation.But…“It’s similar; you know, I can see the future. Although only in fragments.”“…”Was this person for real?“…You don’t seem to be very surprised. Did you perhaps notice it already?”Yeomyeong barely managed to restrain himself from giving the Saintess a flick on her bare forehead. Why did she live so carelessly?“No, I’m just too shocked to even react.”“…Really? It doesn’t look like that.”As their pointless discussion continued, Darulma Dune and Captain Kwon spread out a map and gathered the mercenaries.Yeomyeong was about to follow the rest of the mercenaries but he sat back down on realizing that he didn’t know how to read a map.Seeing that, the Saintess tilted her head.“Why use a map when you have smartphones?”Embarrassed, Yeomyeong fumbled through his bag and replied.“GPS doesn’t work in the area around our destination in North Manchuria, so we need to familiarize ourselves with the map.”“Oh, that’s true. But Yeomyeong, why aren’t you looking at the map then?”Of course, it was because he didn’t know how to read the map, but Yeomyeong chose to remain silent.Perhaps feeling disappointed by the sudden silence, the Saintess turned her head and glanced at Yeomyeong. She once again whispered in a voice that was too soft for the mercenaries to hear.“Are you, by any chance, illiterate?”“…It’s just that I can’t read maps.”“Oh, that’s worse than being illiterate. A mercenary doesn’t know that?”Yeomyeong unconsciously made a circle with his fingers, mimicking the flicking gesture shown by Kahal Magdu.Perhaps she might quiet down a bit if he flicked her on the forehead with that.Just as he was about to raise his hand with that thought in mind, the Saintess giggled.“Don’t worry about it. If we do end up getting lost, I can just use my Foresight to guide us.”“…You’re going to use Foresight instead of the map? How many times can you use it in a day?”“Usually… twice? Five times if I squeeze all my mana.”“…”So it was not an ability that could be used very frequently. Then again, it was not surprising because powerful abilities always came with a massive mana cost.While Yeomyeong was lost in thought, the Saintess stared at him intently.Even though her eyes were covered by a blindfold, it felt as if there was an intense gaze boring into him, as if she were staring directly at him.Was she...?“Did you just use Foresight?”“Um…”“Why waste an ability that can only be used a few times a day at a time like this…”Just as he was about to scold her, the Saintess interrupted him.“Yeomyeong, grab your weapon.”The Saintess quietly took out her automatic rifle and loaded it.Bewildered by the situation, Yeomyeong pulled out a Remington MH750 and an iron sword from his bag.“…What did you foresee?”“An ambush. Some strange bastards with pig heads…”Pig heads? No further explanation was necessary. Yeomyeong asked as he collected his grenades.“How much time do we have?”“5…”“This is insane.”“4…”Yeomyeong stood up and yelled at the mercenaries.“Ambush! It’s an ambush! Everyone, grab your weapons!”

1. It\'s an incendiary device to be used in fire bombing campaigns during World War II; its potential to be coherently projected into a solid stream that would carry for distance (instead of the bloomy fireball of pure gasoline) resulted in widespread adoption in infantry and tank/boat mounted flamethrowers as well.2. The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range, is a 1,200-kilometer-long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of the Donghu, the Xianbei.3. Paektu Mountain or Baekdu Mountain is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. In China, it is known as Changbai Mountain. At 2,744 m, it is the tallest mountain in North Korea and Northeast China and the tallest mountain of the Baekdu-daegan and Changbai mountain ranges.