It was worth all the hard work that I put into Sirka.
So far, Suho has destroyed a total of nine Elvenwood trees.
In the process, countless high elves lost their lives in a mean manner.
The spirits that had been swarming inside their bodies like parasites fled in panic.
Rather, he attacked me like an evil spirit.
But either way, the result was the same.
All of those spirits are eventually captured by the guardian and burned to death.
He was captured by Sirka and forced to submit.
Countless times.
The result is right here, right now.
In this land… … .
WHEEWHAAAAH!
It has descended.
Tsk tsk tsk!
"… … !"
The cold frosty wind that started from Sirka's small body instantly covered the dark alley.
The bodies of the enhanced humans who were touched by the pure white snowstorm began to freeze one by one.
"Eww!"
"What, what is this… … !"
With screams of terror, the augmented humans hastily turned around and tried to run away, but it was already too late.
Sirka's bitter cold instantly turned the entire alley into an ice kingdom.
Ice thorns jut out sharply from the alley.
The enhanced humans turned into ice statues with astonished expressions on their faces.
and.
Crackle crackle-
The bodies of the debtors began to fall apart with the sound of ice cracking.
The arms and legs of the demons transplanted into their bodies were also shattered into pieces like ice cubes.
"Ugh… … ."
They barely managed to break the ice and escape, but their bodies were already in a terrible state.
Meanwhile, some people were seen shivering from the cold, taking out the 'fruit' they had hidden in their bosoms and stuffi
ng it into their mouths in a hurry.
but.
Wheeze-
"… … ?!"
[Your Majesty, this seems to be a fruit.]
The fruits they were holding in their hands were all snatched away by Ber and given to Suho.
Tiring.
['Item: Contaminated Elvenwood Fruit' has been acquired.]
"… … ."
The life slowly drained from the eyes of the enhanced humans who were looking at the sight with bewildered expressions.
At that moment.
Boom!
[Keeec?]
Simultaneously, the credit chokers strapped around their necks began to explode here and there.
Boom boom! Boom boom!
"… … It seems like it's designed to automatically explode when the debtors die."
Suho was a little surprised by the explosive power of the credit choker, which was greater than he had expected.
Even Sirka was so surprised that she created a wall of ice to block the aftermath of the explosion.
And the corpses of the enhanced humans left there had their heads completely missing.
[From now on, when dealing with them, it would be better to avoid close combat.]
And now, at this moment.
"T, this can't be happening… … ."
The expression on the face of the captain of the guard, who was watching this whole scene from the end of the alley, was
one of shock and horror.
No, what is all this?
I couldn't believe it even though I saw it with my own eyes.
Just a few seconds.
No, just one second ago.
A situation I never even imagined unfolded before my eyes.
'I, I have to run away… … .'
The survival instinct was ringing like a mad alarm in the captain's head, telling him to run away from this place immediately.
But I just couldn't move my feet.
It wasn't just because of fear.
Before he knew it, both of his ankles were also firmly bound to the ice of Sirka.
Before him… … inevitable death was approaching.
He made excuses desperately.
"Oh, no. This is a misunderstanding! I can explain everything! I just, just… …!"
iced coffee.
Suho was approaching.
Walking slowly on the ice.
"I, really! I really didn't intend to kill you! I just meant to eat the fruit… …! This is just a ritual that everyone goes through…
…!"
Disjointed excuses began to pour out of the mouth of the captain of the guard, who was gripped with fear.
Suho nodded obediently and answered.
"Well, it was a misunderstanding… … . Well, that could be true. It's because the old man was too kind, and it's because I c
ame all the way here."
The captain of the guard was rather creeped out by the sight.
Why didn't I know?
Why did I only realize this now!
Looking back, that guy was like that from the beginning.
Villains who escaped across the 38th parallel to North Korea would naturally be possessed by evil or have a murderous spiri
t, so they would be wary of everything.
In this hell, you can't trust anyone.
But that guy was different.
He followed me around and guided me so obediently that I almost thought he was a fool.
Like a tourist on a trip.
And that attitude continues even at this moment… … .
The captain of the guards was even more frightened by the sight of Suho, who was calmly approaching him, not feeling eve
n a hint of murderous intent.
"Hey, wait! I'm useful! If you spare my life, I'll tell you everything I know! There are a lot of things you'll need to know to ad
apt to this city! If you kill me… …!"
[Ah, don't worry about that, kind villain. I'll become kinder when I'm dead anyway.]
"… … ?!"
Creepy!
Before he knew it, Berga came up to him and patted his shoulder with a very kind expression.
The captain of the guard was startled and, in a stroke of genius, suddenly took out two daggers he had hidden and threw th
em at Suho's heart and neck.
wedge-
"asleep!"
But the daggers are a trick!
Before the dagger could even reach Suho, he was so angry that he unleashed every attack he could at Suho.
"Kwaaak! Don't come here! Don't come here! If you kill me anyway, you won't be safe either… …!"
Phew-
"Oh, were you talking? You suddenly attacked me."
"… … ."
Sirka, who had come closer, stabbed the captain of the guard with the spear of the ice tree, then turned to Suho and apolog
ized with a very harmless expression.
At the same time, the life drained from the captain's eyes, which had been filled with evil.
[Keeeek! The little lord's precious experience points... ]
Ber, who just talks about experience points while so many people die.
At this point, it was confusing to tell which side was the villain.
But Suho wasn't easy either.
"No. They weren't the type of people who would give me much experience anyway."
I didn't really feel guilty.
Anyway, if there are villains who would have fled all the way to North Korea to avoid the association, they are basically the o
nly ones who have done something worthy of the death penalty.
If I had committed a lesser crime in the first place, there would be no reason for me to run away to this harsh apocalypse o
n my own two feet.
"Get up."
Suho extracted the shadows of the dead without hesitation.
[Shadow extraction succeeded.]
[Shadow extraction succeeded.]
[Shadow extraction succeeded.]
… … .
Aaaah ...
A cold alley where winter has arrived a little early.
The shadows of the debt collectors whose heads had been blown off by the choker's explosion echoed with wails.
And finally when they rose again from the dead.
Their souls, which had been struggling with debt and barely surviving during their lifetime, were no longer filled with choker
s.
[Shadow Reinforcement Bottle Lv.1]
[Shadow Reinforcement Bottle Lv.1]
[Shadow Reinforcement Bottle Lv.1]
… … .
A strange sight appeared in Suho's eyes as he scanned the appearance of the new soldiers who had appeared before his ey
es.
"The body of the demon that was transplanted into my body continues even after I die. It would be a little unfair for Sita to s
ee that."
[That's right. It's similar to the Yong-in tribe that Sita perfected through experiments.]
Sita, who had caused such chaos in India, claiming to strengthen humanity, had transformed humans into dragons after nu
merous experiments.
But the villains here have different principles, but the results are quite similar.
"Seeing that the changes in the body affect the soul, it seems that the effect of the 'fruit' is better than expected."
Suho looked closely at the 'fruits' that Ber had retrieved.
Then an information window appeared before my eyes.
[Item: Contaminated Elvenwood Fruit]
Difficulty to acquire: ??
Type: Consumables
This is the fruit of Elvenwood, the sacred tree of the elves.
When consumed, instead of temporarily boosting your resilience, the seeds of Elvenwood take root in your body, causing p
ermanent mutations.
It is contaminated with an unidentified energy.
-Effect 'Recovery Boost': HP, MP recovery speed increased by 200%
-Side effect 'Erosion': Permanent damage to the body
Suho, who was reading the information window, made a disgusted expression.
"… … If you eat this, Elvenwood will take root in your body? It feels like Cordyceps sinensis. More importantly, what is it tha
t contaminated it with?"
No matter how much I looked through the information window, I couldn't see any specific information about 'contamination'.
Berga gave his attention.
[You can feel the energy of Itarim at first glance. You should never eat it on its own.]
"I'm not eating."
Anyway, Suho had no intention of eating it.
"How can you eat something like that when you feel uncomfortable?"
Suho pointed to the corpses of the enhanced humans.
Slowly.
The soul had been transformed into a shadow soldier, but in the wounds of the corpse that remained, thin tree roots were
writhing like tentacles.
The sight was quite grotesque, as if looking at blood vessels without any blood flowing through them.
"I understand the principle by which the demon's body was attached."
"It seems that the roots of Elvenwood forcibly woven the human body and the demon body together from the inside."
Sirkado's expression was stiff.
"Silard, is this what Elvenwood is like?"
[The King of the Snowmen, the Lord of the Cold, says that this is the first time he has seen anything like this.]
"Captain of the Guard."
[yes.]
As Suho turned into a shadow soldier and looked at the captain of the guard standing in front of him, he responded to the c
all with black vapor billowing from his entire body.
"What happens if you eat several of these fruits at the same time?"
[Effects stack.]
"How many?"
[I don't know exactly. Since it's such an expensive item, I only eat several at a time when I'm seriously injured.]
"I see. It's a really unpleasant fruit."
"Ultimately, the more you eat this fruit, the more Elvenwood roots will grow in your body."
"It wouldn't be strange if I ended up becoming a walking tree."
Suho raised his head and looked up at the city sky.
Beautiful tree branches and leaves covering the roof and ceiling of the city.
Blood-red berries hanging high in the sky.
Suho turned his gaze back to the captain and asked.
"Captain. Tell me everything you know about this city. Anything is fine."
[Yes. This city is largely divided into four powers. The first is the 'Bank'. On the surface, it looks like a simple financial institu
tion, but in reality, it is the real power that controls this city. In particular, it dominates the distribution of fruits, and is at the c
enter of all transactions.]
"and?"
[The second is the 'Hunter's Guild'. It is a group of enhanced humans who have received a beast's body transplant, and they
are in charge of the city's actual fighting power. Their main job is to carry out bank requests and obtain fruits. They also go out
of the city to hunt beasts or obtain supplies according to requests.]
"Fruit? Is there any reason why they should continue to obtain fruit?"
[Enhanced humans have a strong sense of pride in their ability to surpass humans. So, in order to become even stronger, th
ey compulsively want to transplant the bodies of superior demons into their bodies.]
"Hmm. Should I consider this as a kind of addiction?"
[Yes, that is correct. And the third is the 'Free Market Union'. It is a loose association of the city's merchants and debt collec
tors, and although it is not an official organization, it accounts for a significant portion of the city's economy. It trades in all goo
ds except fruit.]
"They say that the banks have strict control over fruits."
[Yes. The fruits that the debt collectors have picked at the request of the bank belong entirely to the bank. If they get hurt, t
hey have to borrow money to buy the fruits that they have picked with their own hands. It is a shackle.]
"… … ."
Suho was silent for a moment.
The face of the bank employee who had welcomed me with a big smile came to mind.
Now that I look at it, it's not a new guest, but an expression of joy at the addition of a new slave.
"Then what is the final force?"
[This is the 'executive'.]
"bailiff?"
[Yes. The Executors operate independently of other forces and are responsible for maintaining order in the city. They are not
normally seen except in special cases. I have only heard of them, but there are rumors that there are S-class villains among th
e Executors.]
"A S-class villain?"
A strange sight appeared in Suho's eyes as he listened to the captain's explanation.
"I thought it was more organized than I thought for a lawless area. Are you saying there are guys who maintain order behind
the scenes?"
But then suddenly a strange thought occurred to me.
Suho asked, looking back at the ice-covered alley.
"When will the bailiff show up? We've caused this much chaos and no one has shown up yet?"
[I guess it's because it's a city where villains live together… … There's quite a bit of noise like this.]
Hehe.
The corners of Suho's mouth went up at those words.
"Then how do I make them pop out?"
[Your Majesty, wouldn't it come out if we kill all the villains here?]
The captain of the guard shook his head at Ber's words.
[No. Rather, when a city falls, the Executors will leave as they always do, looking for a new home. And they will build a new
city.]
"As always?"
[Yes. As I explained at the beginning, this city is the last remaining paradise in North Korea. In the past, there were other vill
ain cities besides this one. The ones who escaped from those ruined cities and created a new city here are the Executors.]
"Why did those cities fall?"
[Of course… … It's because of Chairman Woo Jin-cheol.]