The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 281

"Resistance?"

"Yes! An organization created to break the current world that only moves according to the will of the church and God, and to give all people freedom as human beings! That is us!"

Free said with a smile full of pride.

"Hmm, is that so?"

Lee Shin said so and looked at Midra and Tafra.

His eyes were asking for an explanation of what was going on.

"Even if you look at us like that, we don't have much to say either. We didn't know about it either."

"These guys suddenly came to us and said they would help us fight the holy knight guys, so we just accepted. We needed to do something to overturn the disadvantageous situation."

Midra, who had said that much, wore a look of disbelief as he listened to the explosion sounds that were still continuously being heard.

"Well, I didn't think that 'help' would be a messy explosion attack, though."

Still, Midra was satisfied.

In a situation like this, where large-scale communication was impossible due to the strange magic the holy knight guys were using, the appearance of a shield that could reduce the damage on their side was more than welcome.

At Midra's words, Lee Shin tilted his head slightly and asked slickly.

"You trusted them so easily in a situation like this. What would you have done if this guy wasn't from the resistance? You would have been dead by now."

"There's no way those arrogant holy knight guys would pull such a petty trick on us."

Midra said so and pointed at Free's face with his finger.

"And decisively, that guy is the person who came to us before to persuade us to join the resistance."

"Yeah, I was quite indebted to you back then. I'm still grateful to the three of you now."

Free said so and looked at Lee Shin.

"Was it Mr. Smile? I am grateful to you as well."

Free bowed his head to Lee Shin and expressed his sincere gratitude.

"Thanks to you, we were able to reduce the power of the church like this."

Grin-

And hearing Free's words, Lee Shin smiled brightly.

Because he could read the sincere gratitude toward him and the deep hatred toward the church and the holy knights in Free's words.

'The organization called the resistance doesn't seem like a proper organization just by hearing about it... but if there are many guys like this, it might be worth checking out.'

Having thus resolved his doubts, Lee Shin slowly relaxed the muscles he had been tensing with the thought of attacking Bodra at any time.

As he had told Bodra, the reason he had brought her here was largely to act as a pass to not cause unnecessary fights.

But behind that, it was also to take her hostage in case of an emergency and control their movements.

"But Mr. Smile, I have something I'm curious about. Would it be alright if I asked you one thing?"

"What is it? If you have something you want to ask, feel free to ask."

"Thank you. Then..."

Free asked with a slightly tense face.

"I understand that you were with the Sword of the Sea and the Sword of the Earth until a moment ago... Could you possibly tell me what happened to those two?"

A look of tension appeared on Free's face.

It was understandable, as if even one of them were to intervene in the current situation, he would have to leave this place immediately.

The resistance was currently launching an all-out attack and achieving quite a lot of results, but this was less due to their own power and more because they had ridden the flow well.

In fact, if the Sea and the Earth sides had not been so hostile to each other and biting at each other, their guerrilla attacks would have been a bad move that would have revealed their positions here and there.

"Ah, them?"

At Free's words, Lee Shin said as if it were nothing.

"We were fighting well, but in the end, I lost them."

"...You lost them?"

At Lee Shin's words, Free muttered with a look of disbelief.

And in the midst of it, Irin was focusing all her attention on clinging to Lee Shin, and Cheon Yuhwa was watching the situation quietly, one step removed.

And Bodra, who had been constantly pestered by Lee Shin on the way, quietly kept her mouth shut and managed her expression.

And Lee Shin, satisfied with everyone's reaction, opened his mouth again so that Free's gaze would not turn to anyone other than himself.

"Yeah, we were somehow fighting on equal terms, but in the end, they used a scroll and ran away to another place."

Lee Shin said so and shrugged his shoulders.

"If my body was in a slightly better condition, I might have been able to catch them, but as you can see, I'm also quite injured, so catching them was impossible..."

"No! On the contrary, this is good!"

Free cut off Lee Shin's words and shouted so.

A look of elation appeared on Free's face as he spoke.

"The two of them ran away! But the fanatics in this forest don't know that fact!"

"If so, this situation can be used! We can control the information and make them continue to bare their teeth at each other!"

"What, you're grasping the situation quite optimistically."

"No, I am grasping it accurately."

Free said to Lee Shin and smiled.

"Fanatics are fools who have given up the power to think for themselves and have entrusted everything to God and their superiors. So even if the situation is somewhat strange, they only focus on following orders."

Grin-

"They lack the power to think freely!"

Having said that, Free took a step toward Lee Shin and said.

"And I was convinced right here and now. Mr. Smile! That I must scout you for our organization!"

"Oh, what, me?"

"Yes, that's right!"

Free shouted in great excitement and looked at Lee Shin.

"I thought so from the moment I first heard the news about you and what you did. That I must accept you into our organization."

"What, I'm quite popular, huh?"

"Yes, many in our organization have a great interest in you, Mr. Smile. But there were also those who had doubts about your sudden appearance, so that's why I came here..."

Free said with an excited, flushed face.

"Even they will surely have nothing to say when they hear of the achievements you have made."

Having finished his words, Free looked at Lee Shin and asked.

"So, Mr. Smile, won't you join our organization? Of course, others are welcome as well. The more competent people, the better."

Lee Shin looked at the hand extended with Free's words for a moment, then smiled and said.

"If you want to scout me, you have to first prove how much power you have."

"Yes?"

At Lee Shin's sudden words, Free said with a flustered expression.

"It's just as I said. If you want to recruit me, show me how strong you are and then talk."

Lee Shin, having finished his words, pointed at the forest and said.

"You said it a moment ago, didn't you? That you might be able to deal with the holy knights in the forest?"

Free nodded at Lee Shin's words.

"Then come find me after you've finished that. I have no intention of joining an organization with an incompetent person who can't even keep his own word."

Having finished the conversation, Lee Shin looked at Cheon Yuhwa.

At that, Cheon Yuhwa let out a small sigh.

"Don't you have legs? I'm also quite tired from a big fight, though not as much as you."

"I have legs, but unfortunately, I don't have wings. If I go through the forest, I'll have to clash with various guys."

At the threat that if she abandoned him now, he would make her regret it greatly, even though he didn't know what she was preparing at the garrison, Cheon Yuhwa looked at Lee Shin in annoyance and spread her wings.

At that, as Lee Shin smiled and was about to grab Cheon Yuhwa's hand, Midra looked at him and said.

"If it's okay, can you take us too?"

"Huh? Oppa?"

As Bodra looked at Midra as if to ask what he meant, Tafra, who was next to him, answered instead.

"The reason we were with that guy was because he said he told his subordinates to bring you here if they found you. Since you're here, there's no reason for us to stick with him."

"No, but going with that guy is..."

At Bodra's words, Midra said as if asking what was wrong.

"If I have to choose between the side that has to fight from now on and the side that is full of thoughts of resting from now on, it's the latter. I'm tired."

At Midra's words, Bodra let out a small sigh.

At that, Midra nodded and said.

"So how about it? Is it okay if we go?"

"They're asking if it's okay to go with us."

As Lee Shin looked at her and said that, Cheon Yuhwa sighed and said.

"You don't have to explain it like that. Thanks to your sister and Crowley's artifact, I can understand everything they're saying."

"Oh, really?"

Lee Shin looked at Cheon Yuhwa as if to ask what she was going to do, and she thought for a moment and then said.

"Let's take them. We needed someone who knows this world well anyway."

At Cheon Yuhwa's answer, Lee Shin nodded and said.

"Then what are you doing? Hurry up and spread your wings."

At Lee Shin's words, Cheon Yuhwa lightly swung her wing as if to hit his head.

But Lee Shin, as if he had expected it, dodged her wing attack and smiled.

◎ ◎ ◎

"What, you're here again?"

"I know, right? I thought I wouldn't have to see your stupid face anymore, but somehow I'm seeing it again."

"What, are you picking a fight with me now?"

"You're the one who started it!"

Mio and Bodra growled at each other, and Midra, Tafra, and Rwen, as if already used to it, watched them and conversed about the current situation.

"...Why has the number of people suddenly increased again?"

And Eun Yeonwoo, with the question of why the number of people had increased again, asked Lee Shin.

"I don't know either. It just happened this way."

Lee Shin, who had come down from the platform of light created by Cheon Yuhwa and landed on the ground, looked at Eun Yeonwoo and asked.

"Are those guys okay?"

"If you're talking about the items you left with us, they're being kept fresh in cold storage."

Eun Yeonwoo said so and pointed at Lee Ji-eun and Lee Si-eun.

"The ice seems a little thin, wouldn't it be better to freeze them more solidly?"

"That much should be fine. They've both grown tremendously while rolling around here and there."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Lee Shin muttered so and then looked at Eun Yeonwoo and said.

"By the way, what was it that Cheon Yuhwa told you to prepare at the end?"

"Ah, that?"

Eun Yeonwoo scratched his head for a moment as if wondering how to explain it, then pointed at Lee Hyun-seok who was busily moving something and Lee Hyun-young who was diligently drawing something on the floor in a corner, and said.

"It's a little hard to explain with words, so it'll be more convenient for you to see it with your own two eyes. It's about time to start."

At those words, as Lee Shin slightly turned his head, he saw Cheon Yuhwa walking toward that direction.

"Are the preparations all done?"

"Ah, yes! We can start anytime!"

"Then I'll ask you now. It seems it would be better to deal with it quickly before that Lee Shin guy causes some other trouble."

"Hmm, that's certainly true."

Lee Hyun-young said so, sprinkled magic stone powder on the circular water surface, and then activated the magic circle drawn around it.

At that, the mana began to spew a bright light, and then another image appeared on the water surface.

"I'm really seeing a lot of unexpected faces today."

Lee Shin muttered so as he looked at the scene that appeared on the water surface.

-So you thought we'd just be sucking our thumbs if you went there?

And Crowley, who appeared on the water surface, said so and looked at Lee Shin.

(End of Chapter)