Goblin Workshop In Me

133. Turning the Tide

It was natural that winter was cold, but this time it was particularly frigid. Awakeners were resistant to the cold and heat, so it was okay, but non-awakeners had to suffer. The only thing that comforted them was a small bonfire. The people gathered around it to bask in the fire’s warmth. Such was the current state of a civilized country in the 21st century.

It was both a comical and a tragic scene. Still, things had gotten a little better. At least no more murderers were rushing in to kill them.

“Thank you. We can say that Seoul is recaptured now.”

Ko Byeong-gap looked at Han Chang-hoon for a moment, then shifted his gaze again. The survivors were busily roaming the streets of Seoul to restore it. It was like filling a dry sea with water, but it was better than giving up. Anyway, some had to put their heads to the ground to look forward to the distant future.

For a while, all their efforts were focused on searching for survivors. As a result of days of effort, more than 200 additional refugees were found. They were partly out of their minds and exhausted from fear and hunger. Still, they were alive, and that was all that mattered.

Ko Byeong-gap was able to obtain new information through the refugees.

‘When I asked where all those people had gone, they all fled to the south.’

In the early days of the incident, he thought that all twenty million citizens in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do had been killed. Fortunately, that was an excessive leap in logic. Upon hearing the news that the northern front had collapsed shortly after the Monster Waves, the citizens evacuated. Therefore, several people gathered at the southern end of the Korean Peninsula.

That was why they had to hurry. The action had to be taken before the survivors ended up being slaughtered.

‘A lot of Gruggles have died.’

After receiving power from the Devil, Ko Byeong-gap could feel them like they were his hands and feet. However, he didn’t feel any regret or remorse. More than half of the 560,000 Gruggles that descended into South Korea died. Even at this moment, more were still dying. He knew it was ridiculous but was that too much? There were still a lot of Gruggles.

Before leaving Seoul, they underwent their last maintenance. Meanwhile, some, led by Ko Byeong-gap, visited the radio station.

“Then, please.”

“I don’t know if it’s possible… I’ll give it a try.”

Ko Byeong-gap had gathered experts from various fields. Those accompanying Ko Byeong-gap this time were also of that kind. They operated the emergency power generator in the base station and then skillfully manipulated the communication equipment.

“Do you think we can communicate with them?”

Ko Byeong-gap asked calmly. A middle-aged man in his 40s, wearing glasses with a broken bridge, answered in a hopeful tone.

“Well, we should pray to reach them.”

The three experts were busy working while Ko Byeong-gap quietly watched. He bit his lip, thinking that no matter how he tried to help, he would only be a nuisance. The only time Ko Byeong-gap moved was when they asked for something heavy.

One hour. Two. Time continued passing.

When the initial urgency had gone and boredom began to creep in, a man nervously slammed a keyboard. Ko Byeong-gap suddenly raised his head.

“What’s wrong with you? What’s not working?”

“Damn it…”

The man cursed repeatedly. It was a long talk, but the gist was that it was impossible to communicate with the outside world due to some unidentified interference. The other two men dropped their heads with sorrowed looks, perhaps facing a similar situation.

“I don’t know what will happen if we keep trying to contact them, but we can’t stay here.”

“Hmm…”

Ko Byeong-gap stroked his chin.

“Can’t you leave a message?”

“What?”

“Like a simple text. I don’t know if they’ll read it or not, but I think it’s better to leave it for now.”

“Oh… I think that’s possible! Where would you like it to go?”

“The whole world, please.”

“The whole world? There’s a limit to what you can put in it.”

“It’s okay.”

“Oh, okay. What should we say?”

“Say…”

Ko Byeong-gap drew a short breath.

“Destroy the blue pillar, please.”

***

Ko Byeong-gap and his party left Seoul. If he could, he wanted to search every area and proceed. However, they lacked the resources and time to do so. Therefore, they decided to move mainly through the battlefields. After all, if they defeated all of the Illumination, time would be on their side.

Through the Gruggles, they were able to roughly guess the location of the Illumination Guild.

“It seems like they are hunting people by sending monsters to a few places in the city center. They hide behind monsters and don’t move if they can help it.”

Seo Si-hee, having returned from reconnaissance, reported this.

“I guess so. Their ranks aren’t infinite.”

“It would be easy if we destroy those bases, right?”

“It’s easy to say. There must be a lot of bases.”

The hunters gathered in the conference room to discuss effectively wiping out Illumination. Ko Byeong-gap decided at that point:

“Let’s split the army in two.”

“Do you want to move separately?”

“Yes, I will pass through Gangwon-do with my men and go down toward Gyeongsang-do. You should proceed with Seo Si-hee through Chungcheong-do toward Jeolla-do.”

“Well, distributing our power will increase the risk.”

Shim Seung-seop immediately objected, but Ko Byeong-gap answered calmly.

“No. As you all know, we have a safety zone called Ashvilam that we can reach at any time. Even in the event of an emergency, we will be able to get help quickly.”

“Hmm…”

“I can also use the Gruggles to locate Illumination. Seo Si-hee, it won’t be difficult for you to figure out their movements. Don’t you think so?”

“That’s true. However, I still don’t have the means to contact you.”

“You can visit Ashvilam at regular intervals and leave a messenger. In a serious emergency, we can flee to Ashvilam and join forces. And if you keep a Gruggle with you, I can get a general grasp of your situation.”

Seo Si-hee nodded silently. The other hunters agreed.

“Then, from now on, we’ll move individually.”

Ko Byeong-gap, the Goblins, Seo Si-hee, and the hunters went their separate ways in Yeoiju, Gyeonggi-do.

Ko Byeong-gap moved the car from Ashvilam to Earth to drive. His first destination was Hongcheon since Illumination operations seemed to originate from there. If the world hadn’t been shattered, he could’ve reached his destination in just a few hours. However, at this point, when monsters were as common as pigeons in Seoul Plaza, he couldn’t enjoy driving leisurely. Moreover, the road’s situation was also a mess.

He diligently headed to Hongcheon, walking and driving in equal measure.

“Lord, do you know what that is?”

Doran, who ran alongside Ko Byeong-gap, asked when they passed by a half-broken bridge.

“Hmm? What is it, Doran?”

“Can humans get back on their feet even after we’ve killed all of the Illumination?”

“What do you mean?”

Doran turned her head for a while to look at the surrounding scenery, noting the passing ruins and mangled bodies of humans and monsters. The overpass, which lay collapsed in the middle, seemed to mark the broken spine of humanity.

“Look at these things; it’s all ruined. I was wondering if humans can go back to their old lives in this situation.”

In fact, even if they overcame this disaster, there was no guarantee that things would be good after that. No, they might face a more disastrous reality. Politics, military, economy. All the systems that formed the basis of the country had become obsolete. The city’s infrastructure was torn apart, and people were dying.

Even if the level of civilization retreated about 100 years after this incident, it wouldn’t be a joke. However, that was something to think about later. Right now, it was hard to even solve the situation that was right in front of them.

“Well, as you said, we might not be able to go back to our old lives.”

“Well, it’s not my business to deal with human affairs.”

“Doran! Watch what you say. This is Lord’s hometown.”

Kiriyan glared at Doran and scoffed. Only then did Doran seem to realize that her Lord was a human.

“Oh! Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, Lord.”

“It’s okay. It’s true. Well, humans are the ones who did this, so who are you to blame?”

Ko Byeong-gap looked to the distant mountains. Fortunately, at least that hadn’t changed.

“I don’t know. Will something like a human Lord appear and save mankind?”

“Like how Lord saved us?”

“Okay, we should hurry. The sun will set soon.”

“Yeah!”

Ko Byeong-gap and his men diligently ran.

***

It was already the end of December. Ko Byeong-gap and his men passed through Hongcheon and Gangneung, wiping out all of the Illumination in Gangwon-do. While Ko Byeong-gap worked on that, Seo Si-hee and her party destroyed the Illumination’s bases in the four cities in Chungcheong-do.

It couldn’t have been easier since the Gruggles had become their allies and the monsters turned their backs on Illumination. While working like that, Ko Byeong-gap realized that there had been a considerable change in his feelings. He no longer hesitated in killing hunters belonging to Illumination.

It wasn’t possible to determine whether this was a good or a bad sign. Whatever it was, even if the enemies in front of him were being chewed alive by the Gruggles, he felt little.

“There is no need for a human Lord to step up.”

“If that’s all it takes to get things sorted out.”

Illumination was powerless without their monsters. They were brutally devoured by the Gruggles without a scrap left.

“Argh! Sa… save me!”

A man ran away from the chaos. When he found Ko Byeong-gap and the Goblins, he rushed toward them and immediately bowed his head.

“Save me! Please! Help me! Oh, ohhh!”

His face was wet with tears and snot, but Ko Byeong-gap looked at his throat with cold eyes. A hexagonal tattoo was proudly displayed on his neck. Ko Byeong-gap turned around, clicking his tongue, and whispered:

“Let him go without pain.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Huh? Uh… ugh!”

Kiriyan poked the man’s forehead with his fingertip. As soon as that happened, the man collapsed. He probably didn’t even know what had happened.

“It’s time to wrap up today and slowly go back… hm?!”

Ko Byeong-gap’s head turned suddenly.

“Lord! Something’s coming!”

“Oh, I feel it too.”

“It’s strong energy. There are a lot of them!”

Drops of sweat beaded down his forehead. He could tell that something tremendous was approaching.

‘It’s coming straight this way. It’s aiming for us.’

“What are we going to do? Wouldn’t it be better to avoid it for now?”

Dorma urged them on. However, Ko Byeong-gap shook his head.

“No, it’s worth a try. Rather, it’s an opportunity to cut off the enemy’s backbone.”

He closed his eyes and sent a command to the Gruggles stationed around them.

‘Gather to me.’

A total of 16,132 Gruggles gathered around Ko Byeong-gap following his order.

“Get ready for battle. Assimilate with the souls.”

“Yes!”

The eight Goblins obeyed at once and glared toward the approaching presence. How much time did it take?

Finally, the things that had been rushing toward them appeared. It was a woman leading a great army of monsters.