Green Skin

152 part 1

Green Skin 152 Preparations

I was walking underground with Park Han Cheol as my guide. Over a month passed because I had to stay in Abraham longer since the search operations were extended. Of course, I had trained during that time and benefited much from it since Park Han Cheol was a worthier opponent than I had expected.

Since we had to continuously converse about the plan, I had been communicating with Jang Ye Ri all the while, and I had also been talking to her today. Jang Ye Ri’s voice was lower than usual, like something had happened, and while her mood seemed bad after I arrived at Abraham, this was the first time I had asked her the question.

[Did something irritating happen to you?]

[No.]

I could not help thinking that something had happened to her because of her changed tone. I asked whether I had violated manners and trust again, but that seemed not to be the reason. The cause seemed to be something personal, and I stopped asking her about her mood because going deeper may seem impertinent.

[All right…when’s the timing?]

[We will not be deciding the timing.]

Her words had another meaning, and I could guess a little by thinking about her actions so far.

[You seem to know…and your answer is probably correct. My brother will decide when to act.]

[Do you think that idiot can really pull off a treason?]

I was curious because that stupid guy seemed unable to take action to overwhelm his father.

[The situation will give him strength. We are not the only ones who hold grudges against my father. The parasites stuck to my brother are also dissatisfied, especially after Somorah had utterly perished.]

[That would be fortunate.]

[You can trust me since my brother is greedy enough not to be able to endure a situation where he could be pushed away. I’m sure of that.]

[There’s no need for treason if you become the legal heir of Hadum.]

[Whether the situation is legal is not important, but my brother committing treason is. The quality and quantity of our forces will not be enough against my brother and father.]

Her brother Jang Gi Hoo will be the first to commit treason, and the public picture would be him leading his troops against his father. Jang Ye Ri will then use this situation to the maximum, as she will behead her father and brother’s heads amidst the confusion and cut out the rotten parts at the same time. That seemed to be her plan.

[How’s our chance of winning?]

[About fifty, and since you have come, sixty.]

The number did not give me confidence.

[Who will face Jang Gi Young?]

[I’ll face my father.]

[Do you think you can do it?]

[I’m not afraid of an old king.]

It would be a lie to say I was not worried, and I did not want to imagine a scenario in which she lost.

[I know what you’re worried about, but the situation is not good. While the number of soldiers is substantial, so are their skills. Our troops are not strong enough to block those with notable strength. While we have gained Park Han Cheol or the Greenbelt Clan, there will be a big hole if I do not go against Jang Gi Young alone. It will be the same even if we added your tribe.]

[Is it all right that our existence is revealed? There will be much backlash from humans.]

The humans I was talking about were those who did not belong anywhere. While power was important to live in this world, a king cannot exist without his people, and it will be the same for the Green Skins. A king who has lost his dignity will crumble, and the system Jang Ye RI wanted will not take place.

[I do not care about others.]

It was true that if the Witch had cared about how others saw her, she would not have done such things in the past. Jang Ye Ri was going to go on regardless of others’ dissatisfaction and anger, but that would be a failed revolution. She would not be able to justify the battle if outside forces, especially monsters, had intervened during the war.

I slowly began thinking back about the Witch of the East. While the massacre she had caused was fresh on my mind, I did not know what happened to her. It may have been information I could not access, or she really had gone off the grid. However, I began to feel that I may know what she was thinking.

[What will you do if the treason succeeds?]

[…..]

[That’s none of your concern. I’m satisfied with achieving my goal.]

I became more convinced by her words.

[Are you planning to die?]

[I said that it was not your concern.]

Jang Ye Ri did not answer, and while I could not be absolutely certain, there was a high probability that the Witch of the East had also died in the same way. While I could not know whether she had lived or died in the past life, I at least knew she had disappeared after that event. Probably her followers had hidden the information about her.

I could do little about whether she will live or die, and I had gained enough from her. However, my mood was not lifted. I sighed once inwardly and talked to her again.

[Let’s go over the plan once more.]

[There are four castle gates for Hadum, and while they are not important since we are going from underground, those who are protecting them are the problem.]

[It would not be an overstatement to say that the gatekeepers for each entrance are stronger than your expectations. Three of them follow my father and the last one follows my brother. If the street battles begin, they will gather inside the castle. They are the actual reason why we need your forces.]