Chapter 33

 

“Uncle, uncle.”

 

Lee Ji-ah chirped.

 

Listening with one ear and letting out the other, Seo Woojin looked out the window.

 

Objects around quickly passed by, leaving them behind.

 

‘A train…’

 

After all, an empire is an empire?

 

Seo Woojin had also heard stories about trains before.

 

At that time, he didn’t have time to pay attention to such things, and he quickly forgot about them.

 

But he never had thought that he would get on that train.

 

A train in a fantasy world felt somehow strange.

 

‘Well, there have been several summoned Heroes so far. It would be more surprising if something like this didn’t happen.’

 

Of course, expecting the Heroes to have specialized knowledge in this field considering their age was difficult.

 

But what was needed was a small idea.

 

With just that, the world could change significantly.

 

The train the Heroes were currently on had a similar structure, but the operating principles were significantly different from those on Earth.

 

First of all, the power source itself was not electricity or coal but magic.

 

‘It’s even more surprising that there’s no tank…’

 

This world always lives with war in mind.

 

Every few hundred years, the Demon King descends and causes havoc.

 

Naturally, it seemed that military development should have taken place, but unexpectedly, it didn’t look like there was much progress on that front.

 

He imagined pouring frequent shots at the Demon King and sticking hundreds of Tomahawk missiles into him.

 

And eventually, a nuclear explosion!

 

‘Why am I getting a sudden chill?’

 

Suddenly, Seo Woojin shivered at an unexpected chill.

 

“Huh? Uncle, are you cold? That’s strange. They said they maintain a comfortable room with temperature and humidity control magic.”

 

Lee Ji-ah listed the advantages of the train as if doing a product placement.

 

“It’s not about that.”

 

Seo Woojin shook his head.

 

Certainly, the inside of the train was comfortable.

 

All sorts of magic seemed to be cast, and it didn’t seem like a lie.

 

“It seems faster than KTX, right? They say it takes only three hours to get to the western part of the Empire.”

 

The Empire’s territory is vast.

 

Maybe as vast as Russia or Canada?

 

To cross half of such a place in three hours…

 

It was an astonishing speed.

 

“Because it’s magic.”

 

Indeed, it was the word of magic.

 

Even things that didn’t make much sense, a simple “Because it’s magic” would make people nod in understanding.

 

“Do you know about that? There’s even a combat airship in the Empire.”

 

Lee Ji-ah whispered as if revealing a national secret.

 

“I know.”

 

Not only in the Empire but also in Sion.

 

That means that most countries operated it.

 

However, the problem was that it was quite different from Earth’s fighter jets.

 

“It’s just like a balloon.”

 

Most combat airships were early aircraft that floated with gas lighter than air inside the balloon.

 

Of course, in this world, they probably used a more sophisticated form of magic, making them faster and safer.

 

‘But that’s about it.’

 

Apart from the ability to fly in the sky, they didn’t have many advantages, so not many of them were in operation.

 

They were probably mainly used for reconnaissance or aerial bombardment.

 

“Oh, like the ones in those old movies?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

It seemed like they were talking about the ill-fated airship, Hindenburg.

 

Whether she imagined something from a fantasy game or not, Lee Ji-ah looked disappointed.

 

“But I heard that Vershine developed something quite groundbreaking a while ago.”

 

Irene, who had been quietly listening from the next seat, joined the conversation.

 

“Vershine?”

 

“It’s a superpower in the East. If you only consider military strength, it’s not much different from the Empire.”

 

I didn’t know there was such a kingdom.

 

“What did they make there?”

 

“They call it an Aerial Mobile Carrier.”

 

Just hearing the name makes my heart pound.

 

It feels like a name that stirs up a man’s romance, doesn’t it?

 

“I heard it mainly serves as a mobile airbase for maintenance, supply, and such, carrying Dragon Knights.”

 

“Dragon Knights?”

 

Even imagining it, the scene seemed majestic.

 

“I would like to see it once…”

 

“Even if you don’t want to see it, you’ll be able to when the war starts.”

 

Irene’s words made Seo Woojin’s excited heart cool down abruptly.

 

Romance is just romance.

 

They are weapons.

 

“Irene Unnie, what’s in Sion?”

 

Unintentionally, Lee Ji-ah called Irene “Unnie.”

 

“Soldiers and Knights.”

 

Sion is not a kingdom with overwhelming national power.

 

But that doesn’t mean it’s a weak place.

 

Because Sion has ‘him.’

 

“And Van Slaine.”

 

Combat Airship? Aerial Mobile Carrier?

 

Bring a hundred of those.

 

Can they even block Van Slaine’s sword?

 

“Who is that? The name is cool. Is he a knight?”

 

Lee Ji-ah asked with sparkling eyes.

 

“My master? Mentor? Teacher? Well, someone like that. Also a high-ranking noble.”

 

Even with Seo Woojin’s unenthusiastic explanation, Lee Ji-ah nodded approvingly.

 

“If the uncle speaks like that, it seems like he’s an impressive person.”

 

Impressive.

 

It was so impressive that it was almost frightening.

 

“Right now, no one among the Heroes can defeat him.”

 

In Seo Woojin’s eyes, Van Slaine was the strongest in the world.

 

It was hard for him to imagine a human stronger than that.

 

“What if I grow more? Can’t I still win?”

 

He couldn’t answer that question directly.

 

At the moment, it’s certain that the ‘Sword God’ will get beaten up without even being able to use his full power.

 

But what if he continues to grow?

 

There’s a maximum of about four years left until the Demon King arrives.

 

If he continues to grow during that time…

 

“Well, maybe then.”

 

No matter how strong Van Slaine is, he can’t stop the Demon King.

 

But Heroes can.

 

Just by looking at that, it was clear how strong the Heroes could become.

 

“Heh, I’d like to see that.”

 

As if her curiosity had been satisfied, Lee Ji-ah smiled once and started chatting again with Kim Da-hye, who was sitting next to her.

 

The scenery outside the window was warm.

 

It was a completely different sight from the northern region they first set out to subdue.

 

That was how Seo Woojin felt too.

 

At least for now, he didn’t feel any fear from the monsters.

 

“It’s in ruins.”

 

Seo Woojin frowned at the scene before him.

 

It seemed to have been a village of forest folk, but now it had turned into burning and crumbling ruins.

 

“They seem to be goblins.”

 

Irene pointed to a corpse lying on the ground.

 

“There’s a poison sting in the throat. It’s a hunting method often used by weak goblins.”

 

Irene was knowledgeable about monsters.

 

Even though goblins were creatures that didn’t appear in the northern region, she could tell just by looking around briefly.

 

“Ugh!”

 

“They’re all dead…”

 

On the other hand, the other Heroes were even vomiting.

 

Their reaction was very different from Seo Woojin, who arrived at the scene and assessed the situation.

 

The knights who came to support them sent a somewhat pitiful look at them but quickly concealed it.

 

Seo Woojin saw it, but he didn’t say anything special.

 

Because he thought the same.

 

“How many do you think there are?”

 

“At least 30. But there’s no way there are only that many.”

 

Goblins live in groups.

 

From the traces left here, there were about thirty, but in the lair, there were clearly many times more than that.

 

“Will it be okay?”

 

Seo Woo Jin asked worriedly.

 

Of course, he wasn’t worried about the knights.

 

No matter how pathetic those guys acted, they wouldn’t die at the hands of goblins.

 

Though they might get injured.

 

“We need to search a bit more, but…”

 

There was a high probability that the surrounding villages were completely devastated.

 

A tribe of this size wouldn’t be satisfied with raiding just one village.

 

“We should check the results of the other groups too.”

 

Currently, Seo Woojin and the Heroes were divided into a total of ten groups and were searching the surrounding area.

 

If you include 100 warriors and knights, there were over 300 people in total.

 

It was a waste to operate it all at once.

 

Therefore, they were divided into groups for the search. Even if they found the lair, they decided to attack later.

 

“Should we head back for now?”

 

Seo Woojin spoke to the other Heroes.

 

They identified the type of monster and even confirmed the presence of the creatures nearby, so there was no need to be greedy anymore.

 

However, the other Heroes seemed unwilling.

 

“No, what are you talking about? Why would we go back already?”

 

“Don’t we need to have some results, even if it’s just a little? If we go back like this…”

 

They opposed Seo Woojin’s words as if it were obvious.

 

‘You guys were just vomiting a moment ago.’

 

He couldn’t understand why they would proceed with the search in such a state.

 

“And you. Why do you keep trying to act like the leader? There are also A-class Heroes here. You’re just a D-class.”

 

It seemed like they didn’t want to listen to orders from someone of a lower rank than themselves.

 

Seo Woojin sighed inwardly.

 

“How would you like to proceed?”

 

Feeling that communication with them might be futile, this time I directed my question towards the knights.

 

At least they should be reasonable, I thought.

 

However, the knights seemed equally frustrated.

 

“We’re here to support the Heroes. So, we’ll leave the decision to them.”

 

Like Irene, they had already realized the fact that the enemy was goblins.

 

So, they probably wouldn’t want to retreat even more.

 

Because goblins were monsters that did not pose much of a threat.

 

The more the Heroes supported by their kingdom excelled, the more influence they gained in the international community.

 

Therefore, returning now as Seo Woojin suggested wouldn’t be pleasing from the knights’ perspective either.

 

“See? Shall we go a little further inside then?”

 

The Heroes still had furrowed brows.

 

They didn’t even glance in the direction where the corpses were.

 

It seemed like their minds were solely focused on going deeper to capture goblins.

 

“Well, do as you please then.”

 

Seo Woojin had nothing more to do.

 

He thought maybe experiencing some hardship would help them come to their senses.

 

Seo Woojin and Irene stepped back a bit.

 

There was no reason for them to take the lead in something they were not inclined to do.

 

How long did they walk like that?

 

Something appeared in front of the advancing Heroes as they pushed through the forest.

 

‘Goblin.’

 

About a meter tall with green skin.

 

And a foul smell.

 

It was undoubtedly a goblin.

 

The creature was dragging what seemed to be the loot from a raided village in a small bundle.

 

Seeing that, Seo Woojin scanned the surroundings.

 

He couldn’t help but suspect that this might be a trap.

 

Goblins were wicked despite their weakness and often set up these kinds of traps.

 

But Seo Woojin’s suspicions were in vain.

 

“These guys!”

 

“How dare you kill someone because you’re a monster?”

 

The Heroes who discovered the goblins rushed forward without a second thought.

 

“Wait a moment!”

 

Seo Woojin tried to stop them belatedly, but it was already too late.

 

No, even if he had stopped them, they probably wouldn’t have listened.

 

To them, goblins were nothing more than weak monsters they had defeated before reaching level 5.

 

And, unsurprisingly, the Heroes fell into the trap.