Chapter 143

"You mean, we need to revise the battle plan at the last minute?"

In the conference room, the Chairman of the major guilds and Gao Jianli looked at Goto Ryuji across from them with puzzled expressions.

"Yes."

Goto Ryuji's expression remained completely calm as his assistant meticulously translated his words to everyone. "DFN's original plan was to take into account that you might not be able to withstand the attack of a large number of insects, so we took the initiative to undertake the most difficult part."

"Both Che Huiyi the hunter and Senatus the hunter possess considerable strength and can withstand the attacks of the Swarm."

His remarks were laced with obvious disdain, after all, the implication was that he hadn't thought much of them before he even arrived, but the guild Chairman were more concerned with something else at that moment.

It wasn't a temporary change to the plan itself; it's not uncommon for plans to be changed after the strength has been confirmed. What they care about is why they want to change it in the first place.

Yes, what Goto Ryuji said makes sense logically, but... from the perspective of the outcome and the battle, it was unnecessary. After all, they could have won anyway, and sticking to the plan would only have made the victory easier than expected.

Changing tactics under these circumstances is both unnecessary and wasteful.

After Choi Jung-in -in calmly stated these points, Goto Ryuji paused briefly before saying, "These are the conditions for Country R's support of Country H. You should all be aware of the evaluation criteria and difficulty for National Power Level Hunter."

To become National Power Level Hunter, one of the most important factors is having conquered an S-Class portal. However, each country deals with its own portals, and even if S-Class portal does appear, those capable of conquering it will keep it to themselves. There's no reason to ask outsiders to solve it.

While there have been instances where outsiders have been asked to solve the problem, they have always been National Power Level Hunter have mastered S-Class portals.

Although many people agree that Goto Ryuji has the ability to conquer S-Class- S-Class portals, he has never had the opportunity to do so.

Hearing this, Lin Zigui laughed in anger, "Then why didn't you bring up this request before?"

Everyone knows that Country R's support this time must have a conspiracy, but what they don't know is what their conspiracy is.

Now that they've witnessed Castorice and Che Huiyi's strength and changed their plans, it's hard for these shrewd people not to guess the worst, such as... plotting to kill them.

Goto Ryuji naturally knew that there were no fools here, and that his and DFN's conspiracy was not difficult to guess at this point. But guessing it was not important; what was important was that it had not yet been implemented. As long as he denied it, no one could be sure that the facts were as they were.

"DFN has its own ideas."

He simply gave up.

'You f***ing...'

Lin Zigui wanted to curse, but that would only make him appear powerless and furious due to baseless speculation.

"DFN should know that we have already invested in a complete tactical plan for this project, and these cannot be changed by mere words."

Gao Jianli more emotional than anyone else here, but his rationality is never shaken by emotion.

Rather than venting his emotions, he wanted something more practical. "Moreover, it's not just Country R that needs S-Class teleportation portal; Country H needs this opportunity as well."

Everyone knows he was referring to Castorice.

Everyone is more aware that the so-called tactical planning is entirely within the purview of these S-Class personnel present. Although there are also arrangements outside the island, not much has actually been invested. While it cannot be changed simply by talking, it also doesn't require much effort.

Similarly, Castorice is not a native hunter of Country H. Although she is currently still registered under the name of Country H, no one can say for sure where she will end up.

Gao Jianli's statement was undoubtedly untenable and could be used to extort money, but... Goto Ryuji simply nodded. "I will discuss the compensation with DFN and return half of the employment fee paid by Country H this time."

"We'll discuss that later. Let's talk about DFN's new operational content first."

Knowing that his exchange of benefits had failed to sway the old man in front of him, Goto Ryuji was not in a hurry. After all, no one would reveal their bottom line at the beginning. They were actually prepared to give a full refund and add a Divine Artifact to the deal.

Rather than those things, it's more important to explain the upcoming strategy plan clearly first.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

The golden sword pressure, easily tearing the earth apart, fell from the Sky Manipulation like raindrops, carving scars in this desolate forbidden zone of life that were enough to alter the landscape.

Standing in mid-air Che Huiyi unleashed her magic without restraint. The continuous flow of magic power and the intensity of her output made her somewhat addicted. An attack that normally took half a minute to recover from had now become her basic attack.

On the ground, Cheng Xiaoyu, feeling a chill run down his spine, used his dagger to parry the onslaught of sword strikes. His hands were far more numb than his scalp, but his gaze remained unwavering for a moment.

Upon detecting that the obstruction of vision caused by the smoke and dust had reached the calculated value, Cheng Xiaoyu activated his magic without the slightest hesitation.

A streak of dark purple fire shot out from the shadows he had previously hidden elsewhere, heading straight for Che Huiyi's wrist. At the same time, he activated the skill 'Invisibility,' leaping into the air, intending to launch his real attack as the feint arrived.

Che Huiyi could naturally recognize the magic moving towards her at high speed, and without hesitation, she was about to throw a sword, but she felt that her wrist was restricted by an inexplicable force.

'Dominator Authority' is the ability to exert physical influence without physical contact, and it is also a harassment tactic that Cheng Xiaoyu excels at.

With the restrictions, feints, and sneak attacks, Cheng Xiaoyu believed he had seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but... amplified by the immense magical power, Che Huiyi instantly broke free from the restrictions of the Dominator Authority, then ignored the painless attacks hitting her wrist and fiercely swung her sword towards nothingness.

Cheng Xiaoyu:...

"Not even a little bit!"

Back on the ground, Cheng Xiaoyu's face was filled with speechlessness. Two people sparring? He was just a sparring partner! After fighting for so long, he could say he had gained almost nothing. He had really become someone who helped Che Huiyi familiarize herself with the power. But the key question was... did he really need to familiarize himself with this power?

Che Huiyi was somewhat embarrassed and didn't know what to say. She also realized the situation she was in during the battle.

Miracles happen with great force. The opponent couldn't break through the defense of the Kamui Spirit Armor, nor could they withstand the pressure of the Orosk's sword. The battle was basically fought entirely based on numerical values.

Because her values were too high, Castorice had to move the two of them to the depths of a valley where no one or animals lived before they could cause widespread destruction.

She enjoyed the fight, but she also knew that Cheng Xiaoyu's experience was definitely not good.

"This is the power of a monarch."

Faced with Cheng Xiaoyu's speechlessness, Castorice smiled and said, "Although some monarchs cannot reach this level, Senior Che's current level has not reached that of the strongest monarch."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiaoyu, who was not a talkative person to begin with, fell silent.

So that's how it is. Although he was nominally there to help Che Huiyi become familiar with the power, he was actually broadening his horizons and letting him clearly understand the true power of the king.

After all, the game system he possesses was likely created by the Shadow Monarch, a king whose strength is guaranteed to be second or even first. If he is helpless even against Che Huiyi, then facing the Shadow Monarch, he can only wait to be resurrected.

Thinking of this, his gaze hardened again. "I understand, thank you, Miss Castorice."

He cannot slack off just because his mother has woken up; he must work even harder.

"I haven't used any of the vacation days I've accumulated. I'll become even stronger in the coming days."

Looking at Castorice's smiling face, Cheng Xiaoyu said this.

...ah?

Chapter 45 The Sudden Changes in Qizhou Island

Originally, Xia Die was just afraid of hurting Cheng Xiaoyu, so she picked out some Castorice, but she had a headache.

Although the Underworld has basically gotten on the right track, it is not completely on the right track yet. Cheng Xiaoyu's busy period during this time is like the climax before everything ends in the story, which is the busiest time.

If Cheng Xiaoyu leaves at this point, I'll have to step in myself, since no one else dares to make decisions on their own.

But seeing Cheng Xiaoyu become more determined and spirited, Castorice couldn't bring herself to refuse. She could only force a smile and say, "I wish Hunter Cheng a successful trip."

Unaware of Castorice's thoughts, Cheng Xiaoyu naturally accepted the Blessing and then said, "See you at the Hunter Association in three days. I still have a lot of things to take care of there, so I'll head back now."

Huh? Oh.

That's true. Although he wants to improve himself, Cheng Xiaoyu doesn't have a guild, so it's difficult for him to bid for A-Class teleportation portal. Therefore, Qizhou Island is the best place for him to go in the near future.

"Hunter Cheng, don't work too hard. Even time is willing to sleep over there. Our pace has never needed to be so hurried."

Castorice said.

That's what they say, but I hope he can finish the work within three days.

As for whether he plans to establish a guild or something during his vacation after Qizhou Island, Castorice has no say in that.

Watching Cheng Xiaoyu walk back into the purple portal, Che Huiyi looked away.

The man's scent was very similar to Castorice's, but not as strong Castorice. I didn't know what they meant by "over there"... However, he didn't seem to be receiving the same special treatment from Castorice as I had.

Realizing this, Che Huiyi's mood improved considerably.

"It seems that you have already mastered the power of the Spiritron Crystal."

Suddenly Castorice spoke up.

"Ah? Oh... that seems to be the case."

Che Huiyi looked at her red spirit armor, which resembled that of a royal guard. "Just now I couldn't control the power of the Orosk' properly, but now I can not only control it well, but I can even transform it into the shape of a longsword."

Thinking back to how her arm was almost dragged away by the Orosk at the beginning, Che Huiyi still felt a little scared.

They almost killed Hunter Cheng.

"In that case, let's go back."

Castorice nodded and opened the purple portal again.

After the two entered the portal and the phone returned to the service area, Castorice received a text message.

Shimizu Akari: [Castorice Chan, want to come eat together? After eating Japanese food in Country H, Kanae-san got angry and decided to cook it herself.]

Shimizu Akari: [Speaking of which, is Castorice Chan interested in Japanese cuisine?]

Shimizu Akari: [If it's inconvenient, how about next time? Kanae-san a great cook, but it's a rare treat to have her cooking!]

The last message was sent 20 minutes ago, and the first one was sent an hour ago.

Although she knew that Tawada Kanae had ulterior motives, Shimizu Akari's enthusiasm was indeed hard to refuse.

It's not that others haven't been this enthusiastic towards her; in fact, many D-Class and C-Class hunters who had gone through the dungeon together were very enthusiastic towards her. But she knew one thing very well: it's hard for people of different skill levels to become friends.

Despite the significant difference in strength between S-Class and her, at least they can work together and provide each other with emotional support during missions.

Castorice knew she was destined to be involved in increasingly dangerous events, and Han Songyi couldn't be with her in these matters. Even if Castorice took her along, it wouldn't benefit either of them.

As for enhancing her strength, making her almost leapfrog to become stronger like Che Huiyi... that would be pure charity. Care and favoritism can exist between friends, but charity is not acceptable.

Therefore, Castorice replied to Shimizu Akari's text message: [Sorry, I was out of service area just now]

Shimizu Akari: [Huh? Did Chan go to the Castorice right after training? With the Car Hunter?]

Shimizu Akari: [Oh, Castorice Chan didn't participate in training.]

I didn't expect to get a reply as soon as I sent it.

"Are you chatting with that child?"

Seeing that Castorice had been fiddling with her phone since returning, Che Huiyi asked curiously.

She knew Han Songyi; the two had met before, but hadn't had much interaction.

"It's not Song Yi."

Castorice withdrew her gaze from her phone. "It was Shimizu Chan. She invited me to eat Country R food together not long ago."

"Shimizu Chan... Ah."

Che Huiyi was a little unaccustomed to the pronunciation and also a little confused as to why the other person was so familiar, but it wasn't particularly annoying. "Castorice, are you going to keep the appointment?"

"They should have finished eating by now."

Castorice wasn't quite sure, so she sent an inquiry to Shimizu Akari.

Shimizu Akari: [We haven't eaten yet! Kanae-san to wait for Castorice. By the way, is Car Hunter over there too? Let's come together!]

Since she assumed the two had just come out of the underground city, she naturally thought neither of them had eaten.

And that's exactly what happened. After finishing their training, the two of them went to help Che Huiyi master the power of the Spiritron Crystal, and they haven't eaten much since.

Having received a reply, Castorice informed Che Huiyi of the situation. Che Huiyi was also somewhat interested in these two female hunters from the neighboring country and accepted the invitation without much hesitation.

Three days later quickly passed.

Originally, there were six participants from Country H, but today the number was increased to eight. Cheng Xiaoyu, a newly appointed S-Class hunter who had not originally planned to come, and Min Se-jun, a healing-type S-Class hunter, both decided to join the operation before departure.

Cheng Xiaoyu's arrival made Goto Ryuji's already unpleasant expression even more gloomy.

Previously, he thought that the only people he could appreciate were Castorice and Che Huiyi. Castorice aside for the time being, Che Huiyi, who was originally very strong but whom he would not pay much attention to, was now exuding a magic that he could not see through.

Not to mention that now Cheng Xiaoyu, with his immense magical power, has joined the fray.

Why have so many powerful individuals suddenly appeared in Country H in the past two years?

Although Castorice is not from Country H.

Although his feelings were becoming increasingly complicated, he was also glad that he had made a decisive decision. The goal of weakening the neighboring country was definitely not going to happen this time, so he couldn't let go of the opportunity to obtain a national-level status.

We can't go home empty-handed.

With Goto Ryuji preoccupied, the group arrived at Qizhou Island, which was surrounded by Swarm, by helicopter.

Wait... completely surrounded?