An officer quickly strode toward Joonbum and Jinpok who were standing around and reminiscing about the old days.
“We-welcome, Your Majesty and Commander! I am Lieutenant Harrisel Bartner of the 12th Battalion that protects this 1st defensive wall!”
The man seemed to have paled from being too tense.
‘I guess this is the normal reaction for most people.’
Harrisel guided Joonbum and Jinpok towards the gate and soldiers saluted them as they passed by.
‘The Gate!’
This was Joonbum’s third time seeing the Gate since coming here. However, he also felt a weird sort of excitement shooting through his body. It seemed like his body was reacting to the Gate.
‘It always feels strange to look at it this way. Why aren’t the others changing? Or did they?’
-Don’t trust people just because they are from your homeworld.
Jackson once told him that in concern as he viewed them carefully. What Jackson was concerned about were the special differences.
There was no telling what special abilities they had hidden. And that was why Jackson was more careful about them.
“Welcome, Your Majesty.”
Joonbum broke out of his thoughts at that.
“Oh, General Lee Chulmin! Long time no see.”
“Hey, General Lee.”
“Long time no see.”
Joonbum, Jinpok, and Doral all greeted Lee Chulmin.
“Start with the briefing,” Jinpok ordered Chulmin. He smiled and started with the briefing.
“The Gate opened exactly a week ago at 9:30 AM. As prepared, we sent a special scout squad of a hundred and an infantry unit of five hundred to clear the area.”
Chulmin then went over the time schedules and timelines they had been working on.
“We have eradicated the monsters around the Gate with zero casualties. There are no problems with continued hunts around the secured perimeter, reports say that everything within a one-kilometer radius is secure.”
Chulmin continued to explain after drinking a cup of water.
“And that concludes the events so far. I will now report and explain the newfound monsters.”
Everyone turned to the direction he pointed to as a soldier took off the cloth covering a cage.
“HMPH!”
“HUH?”
“That’s…”
“Spider… man?”
Everyone opened their eyes in shock at the contents of the metal cage. The top part was definitely human-like. It had two slit-like eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth, but otherwise, it looked like a human. The most notable difference was below its waist, where it had six legs similar to that of an insect or spider.
“As you can see, we have never encountered this before. Our scientists have concluded that it is a mutant human.”
The human spider was glancing around at the humans outside the cage.
“We named it Arachne.”
“Hmm.”
Chulmin then continued with his report.
“We have found twelve new monsters. Our scientists are working hard to analyze them so we will see more details later on. And we are preparing the 2nd wave of soldiers and other reinforcements to be sent out tomorrow.”
Jinpok asked, “How many are we sending now?”
“We are sending two hundred and fifty thousand troops this time.”
It had been barely been a week, but the invasion seemed to be going well.
“Your Majesty. Are you really going over?”
Joonbum nodded.
“You might be transported into a different time. You should reconsider.”
Chulmin was one of the few who knew what happened to Jinpok.
“The others are fine, aren’t they?”
“Yes, but…”
“It’s Jinpok you should be worried about, not me.”
Chulmin moaned as he turned to Jinpok. He was glaring at the Gate with a vicious look.
“I’m finally going! Heh…heh…”
“What are you doing? Let’s go!”
“Huh?”
“C-commander!”
Jinpok, who had finished checking his gear, stepped into the Gate without hesitation. Soldiers and knights tried to stop him, but Jinpok had already gone through.
“Oh no!”
Chulmin was shocked, but Joonbum just laughed.
“It’s okay. We’ll proceed as planned. We’ve already waited for this day for ten years, after all.”
“Y-yes, but we have to be…”
“Are there any problems with the preparations?”
“N-no.”
“Are we weak?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Are you afraid of the monsters?”
Chulmin didn’t answer but he looked determined. Joonbum smiled.
“Then let’s go save those people. And get our revenge.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Everyone, onwards!”
Chulmin shouted and his elite troops quickly gathered.
“We are going! Ainos Guards, protect the emperor!”
Doral shouted as well, and a hundred Ainos warriors gathered around Joonbum.
“Gerekstals, mount up!”
The five hundred Gerekstals all roared as the Magnos leader Gustal shouted. The Gerekstals began rushing through the Gate saluting toward Joonbum while passing by.
“Let’s go!” Doral said as they all disappeared through the Gate.
‘We’re finally going back!’
It was a return after twenty years. With just a few steps, the world changed..
“Welcome to the Demon World, Your Majesty! Lieutenant Colonel Naitel Heser, in charge of this area, reporting for duty!”
‘Welcome to the Demon World…’
Joonbum thought it was weird but nodded.
End of Chapter