Ranker's Return

It was the other territory that Hyeonu possessed, Etono. It was his territory in the demon world.

‘I am seeing it for the first time in a long time.’

“It is more cramped.”

The feeling of the gap with Bung Bung Island, which he thought was clean and beautiful, and Phinis, which wasn’t inferior to a resort town, was even greater after coming to the demon world. The scenery of the demon world was too terrible.

‘Still, let’s take a look.’

Regardless of his feelings, Hyeonu couldn’t leave Etono right now. He had to stay at least one day because he was visiting Etono after so long.

‘I don’t know the status at all...’

It was like having dark eyes. He didn’t know anything about Etono.

‘I should look at the status window first.’

There was no better way to grasp the state of the territory.

‘Territory status window.’

[Territory Status Window]

[Territory Name: Etono

Territory Affiliation: None

Lord’s Name: Gang Hyeonu

Territory Development: Economy: 80 Military: 0 Magic: 70 Culture: 68

Territory Population: 0 demons, 0 demonic creatures, 25 humans.

Territory Assets: 2,317,623 gold.

Consumption Cost: 19,200 gold.

Levy Amount: 78,934 gold.

Security: Poor.

Owned Facilities: 29 (excluding residential facilities)

Current Status: The city is full of adventurers. Security is poor due to the demons and demonic creatures attacking the city. The magic power stone’s magic power absorption is very fast.]

Hyeonu’s expression became worse as he continued reading Etono’s status window. Starting with the development of the territory, the security had become even worse until it was its present state.

‘Why is the security so poor?’

The problem was the security. It was understandable that the military strength was 0. Etono was a territory full of adventurers, or players. Thanks to this, there were no NPC soldiers. It was natural for military power to be zero. Nevertheless, it didn’t matter because the players didn’t cause problems.

Everyone knew that Etono was Hyeonu’s territory. It turned out to be an unforeseen event. There were no players who had enough bravery to cause trouble in Hyeonu’s territory. Hyeonu alone was difficult to handle, and there was Arena’s number one guild, New World, behind him.

‘It is due to the demons and demonic creatures...’

Then the problem was unconditionally with the demons and demonic creatures.

‘It is difficult for the fortress, but it is rumored that hunting is very comfortable... so why?’

Just then, a memory flashed in Hyeonu’s mind.

“Ah!” He just realized why the security was like this. It even explained why the levy was so high.

‘Callioraks...!’

It was the words that he would push every city except for Etono.

‘I told Hyung-nim...’

Why did Hyeonu forget it? It was unforgettable.

‘He said he would protect Etono...’

So it seemed he forgot. It was because there was no damage to Hyeonu himself. At the time when he listened to Callioraks, Hyeonu was thinking about completely pulling out of the demon world. Thus, it was easier to forget.

‘Still, there are no problems, right?’

Hyeonu was relieved to see that Etono was still fine. At the same time, he also felt that Callioraks had kept his promise.

Etono was still fine.

It happened as Hyeonu sighed with relief...

Someone contacted Hyeonu. It was also in a pretty urgent voice.

-From Gang Junggu: Hyeonu, are you busy?

The sender of the whisper was Gang Junggu. Hyeonu shook his head before answering the whisper.

‘There is no reason for him to look for me now...?’

It was time to relax and play with the undead. There were no variables in that situation. It was just a boring hunt.

-To Gang Junggu: Hyung-nim, I’m not busy.

Hyeonu only replied to Gang Junggu after some time.

-From Gang Junggu: Really? Then can you come to the demon world?

Unlike Hyeonu, Gang Junggu replied in less than one second.

-To Gang Junggu: The demon world? Why the demon world? Aren’t you guys in the north now?

Hyeonu replied just as quickly as Gang Junggu this time. It was because the contents of Gang Junggu’s whisper shattered his common sense.

-From Gang Junggu: It has been quite a while since we left there. Hyung-nim said he was bored. He heard somewhere that the demon world was dynamic?

-To Gang Junggu: So? Are you in Etono right now?

-From Gang Junggu: Not Etono, but a bit to the west. However, there were too many demons that have come here.

-To Gang Junggu: I understand, Hyung-nim. I’ll go right away. Please wait a moment.

Hyeonu left the internal affairs room the moment he finished sending the whisper. Gang Junggu’s call had to be answered unconditionally.

A purple light appeared in Etono’s sky.

***

“Did you contact him?”

Kim Seokjung swung his fist and exploded a huge demonic creature as he talked to Gang Junggu.

“He’ll be here any minute, Hyung-nim. After all, isn’t he the type of person who can come to the demon world with just one word?”

Like Kim Seokjung, Gang Junggu was also killing demonic creatures. There wasn’t a moment of rest. For some reason, the demons and demonic creatures came to them as if they had been waiting for New World. If it was simply this, they wouldn’t have called Hyeonu. The demons and demonic creatures were too numerous to count. There was no end in sight.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it if it wasn’t for our brother.”

Kim Seokjung laughed. It was a serious situation, but it didn’t stop him from bursting into laughter.

“It is the same war here and there. I shouldn’t have come to clear that useless quest...”

Gang Junggu shook his head and complained. To be honest, the demon world was the same as the battlefield in the north. They had to deal with a very large number of dark attribute monsters. The difference was that unlike the north, there were only a few New World guild members in the demon world.

“Don’t you know? This is how it is connected.”

Kim Seokjung lightly dismissed Gang Junggu’s complaints. He didn’t like hunts where he emptied his brain and just used skills. It wasn’t just a day or two and he didn’t have that much time to waste. There had to be a minimum of purpose.

“Hyung-nim!!!” As the two of them were arguing fiercely, someone screamed and jumped into the battlefield.

“Brother, are you here?” Kim Seokjung waved at Hyeonu in a leisurely manner.

“What’s going on, Hyung-nim? Why are the monsters flocking like this?” Hyeonu frowned as he pulled out the Mixed Sky Sword. Gang Junggu had sent him a whisper for a reason.

‘What big event is it that there are so many monsters?’

There were only around 30 New World members here. On the other hand, the number of demons and demonic creatures surrounding New World seemed to be a few thousand, if not more.

“How can I know that? I knew monsters were coming near Etono, but I didn’t know it would be this much.”

Gang Junggu sighed heavily. Now he had some room to breathe. The surrounding environment remained the same, but Hyeonu’s existence itself provided him with some leeway.

“Shouldn’t we assume that if they are occupying cities, this much can come? This time, it seems you were too unprepared when acting, Hyung-nim.”

Hyeonu left with these words and threw himself between the demons and demonic creatures. The purple pure energy started to slaughter the demons and demonic creatures. Blood covered the ground everywhere he passed. Thanks to Hyeonu’s powerful performance, the members of New World gradually pushed away the demons and demonic creatures. However, it wasn’t noticeable because of the large number of demons and demonic creatures.

“Let’s end it easily!”

Kim Seokjung shouted in a bright voice that was unlike a man who was surrounded by numerous demonic creatures.

“Did you hear? Don’t be stingy and pour it out. There is someone who will clean it up anyway.”

Gang Junggu was no different from Kim Seokjung. He looked a bit excited.

“I understand.”

“Then I’ll use it without worry!”

The members of New World screamed and nodded. Until now, they had been worried about the aftermath, so they couldn’t use their strongest skills. The power was strong but the efficiency was poor. It was better to use skills with moderate power against many monsters who were weaker than them. Either way, it was just one blow.

However, now wasn’t the time to think about that now that Hyeonu appeared. Colorful magic power swept over the demonic creatures from all sides. Not a single skill overlapped. They all flew toward different places.

There were a series of explosions. A considerable number of demons and demonic creatures fell in an instant.

“All that is left is our brother’s share.”

“Please, Hyeonu.”

Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu waved to Hyeonu.

‘They wiped out the monsters like this, but I think there are more than half left...’

Hyeonu opened his eyes and examined the battlefield accurately. The skills of the New World members had swept through the demons and demonic creatures, but there were still too many of them left.

‘But still... it won’t take long.’

He wasn’t worried. It would take a while, but that didn’t mean he was unable to kill them.

Pure energy rose from the Mixed Sky Sword. Hyeonu lightly swung the Mixed Sky Sword. Then the pure energy took shape as it moved along its trajectory. The crescent-shaped pure energy shot out quickly. The giant pure energy passed lightly through the demons and demonic creatures. None of them could stop it. Even if the demons and demonic creatures released their own magic power, it couldn’t be blocked at all. They broke and collapsed as soon as the pure energy touched them.

Hyeonu didn’t stop there and kept moving. Hyeonu rose high in the air and swung the Mixed Sky Sword several times at high speed.

Hundreds of pure energies started bombing the ground. The pure energies struck the ground. Of course, the demons and demonic creatures standing there disappeared without a trace. They didn’t have the ability to withstand it. The difference between Hyeonu and ordinary demons and demonic creatures was that big.

“What are you all doing? Do you really want to just watch?”

Hyeonu shouted while looking at the demons, whose numbers had decreased dramatically. Now it was sufficient for the New World members to fight alone.

“What? Aren’t you fighting?”

“Aren’t you leveling up? Aren’t you going to improve your skill proficiency?”

Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu shouted at the guild members. Then they started to move slowly. Anyone could tell that they were just faking it.

“Hyung-nims, don’t overdo it from now on. Didn’t I tell you last time? The demon world is now a dangerous area.”

Hyeonu approached Kim Seokjung and Gang Junggu. Unless Callioraks stopped his policy of strengthening the demon world, this crisis could happen again at any time or any place.

“Yes, I need to call in more guild members.”

Gang Junggu nodded. It might have been different before the problem occurred, but now that it happened, he had to willingly listen to Hyeonu’s advice. It felt like they had to call at least 100 guild members in order to prevent a crisis like today.

At this moment, Hyeonu’s expression distorted. Hyeonu frowned slightly and approached Kim Seokjung. “Hyung-nim, I have something to do... I have to go first.”

“Yes, go quickly.” Kim Seokjung nodded with a smile.

“See you again soon.” Hyeonu nodded and smiled at the other person.