Hiding A Logistics Center In The Apocalypse - Chapter 88
Chapter 88: The Symbol of Resurrection (5)
TL/ED – Miso
Creak…
Bones grinding together in a chilling manner.
The demons of Fermegon, resurrected as undead, continued their heavy footsteps.
Creak.
The place where they stopped was the glass pyramid of the Louvre Museum in Paris.
With a thud, they set down the core components of Sisyphus and the European branch headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce…
Flap.
Flap.
Likewise, Fermegon, now a complete skeleton, flew into the center and began reconstructing Sisyphus.
Stanley, the head of the European branch headquarters, who was watching the scene, asked,
“Why did you choose this place?”
“There are a lot of interesting items here. Well, think of it as a sort of display case.”
Resurrection through dark magic was only a temporary effect.
The best way to preserve unstable vengeful spirits was to bind them to objects.
True to Barnaul’s pursuit of aesthetics, they usually chose precious metals or treasures for this purpose. Coincidentally, the Louvre was filled with various artworks collected by Earthlings.
Thus, as the European branch headquarters, Sisyphus, and finally, the Louvre became connected as one…
Flap.
Flap.
The undead who had flown into the museum dragged out ancient Greek-style temple columns, while outside, demons who were still breathing were dragged inside, bound.
Gatz spoke.
“For now, we need power… So we will focus on working with Fermegon first. The humans will come afterward. We don’t have time to create any great masterpieces… But it should be enough to wipe out the Earthly vermin.”
For the moment, the priority was to complete the modification of Sisyphus.
Fermegon and human vengeful spirits would be enslaved, and along the way, capturing Earthlings would serve as a means of making some extra money…
“In a week, we’ll go to retrieve Camelot.”
One way or another, Barnaul’s ultimate goal was Camelot.
And for this, Gatz conveyed a request to Stanley.
“…Consolidation and integration, you mean?”
“Yes, I heard that the European branch headquarters has the authority to do so.”
Consolidation and integration, the process of transferring parts of an external dimension onto Earth.
It was certainly something the European branch headquarters could handle, but since the other party involved was none other than Barnaul, Stanley hesitated.
“But we can’t just bring in a massive dimension like Barnaul. In principle…”
“I understand. Besides, we don’t have enough land for that anyway.”
Barnaul was a nomadic entity that wandered across various dimensions.
A unique pirate faction that had no true homeworld to begin with.
In the end, what Gatz demanded was nothing more than a small, uninhabited artificial island the size of a fingernail and a gate connecting it to Europe.
“Oh, if it’s just that…”
A request that did not significantly deviate from established principles.
Since he had already received a request for cooperation from the Inspection Bureau, Stanley slowly nodded.
***
I stood in front of the yellow barrier, abruptly halting in confusion.
Just then, a new message popped up before me.
Ding!
[Voluntary Surrender Period for Illegal Items in Operation]
[This is an official announcement from the Inspection Bureau of the Multidimensional Chamber of Commerce…]
“What is this?”
The Inspection Bureau.
It was a name I had never heard before, but understanding its meaning was not difficult.
After carefully reviewing the message, I quickly summarized the demands of these so-called inspectors with my companions.
“They want us to hand over Camelot?”
The Inspection Bureau claimed that Camelot was an item that had been used illegally. They offered leniency, stating that if it was voluntarily surrendered within the given period, no charges would be pressed.
It was similar to the annual voluntary surrender program for illegal weapons conducted by the police department or the Ministry of the Interior.
The only difference was that this time, these damned invaders were pretending to be government officials, acting all self-important.
“…My lord.”
Lancelot wore a pitiful expression, like a country puppy.
Of course, he had no intention whatsoever of offering up the knights to the Chamber of Commerce…
[Return Location: Multidimensional Chamber of Commerce, European Branch Headquarters]
[Return Deadline: Within 7 days]
[Failure to comply will result in enforced repossession.]
It seemed they anticipated resistance, as they had already scheduled a forced collection just one week later.
Since they couldn’t pinpoint me as the sole owner, a kind of world message was sent to all PAX Men. Still, their determination to seize Camelot by any means was clear.
Exactly one week.
The same duration as the barrier’s announced period.
Seeing that the designated return location was the European branch headquarters, I could easily guess that the enforcers from the Inspection Bureau were already just beyond that barrier.
And…
“So those guys are Barnaul?”
“Yes, my lord. You should be able to feel it too, that they radiate an aura similar to ours.”
“I do feel something eerie, but…”
That the enforcers were none other than Barnaul, the mortal enemies of the knights.
“The situation is developing in an interesting way.”
The Chamber of Commerce had already announced my victory, declaring Fermegon’s death.
As a so-called reward, they spoke nonsense about setting up a portal to Paris and removing my hologram tag…
But the portals of the Chamber of Commerce were such inferior transportation methods that I wouldn’t use them even if they were given to me, and I had never had a hologram tag attached to me in the first place.
“One way or another…”
It was clear that our fight was far from over.
Not only were European prisoners still trapped beyond the barrier, but we also couldn’t exactly make peace with those who intended to repossess Camelot by force.
Especially when the enemy was the infamous Barnaul.
And then
Bzzz.
New information came through the subspace portal.
.
.
.
“…Ellie?”
The one who had come to see me was Ellie, the chairwoman of the Galadon Council of Elvenheim.
“Take a look at this.”
“This is…”
What Ellie pulled out was a large black DSLR camera.
Elvenheim had been growing greener by the day thanks to the ongoing World Tree planting campaign led by PAX FC.
True to their love of nature, the elves had wanted to document the transformation, so I had given them this camera. But this time, it seemed they had captured something entirely different.
Click, click.
Ellie clumsily operated the camera buttons.
One by one, photos of toothless elves wearing sun hats and sunglasses, hiking in the mountains, flickered past.
“Wait, no, not these…!”
I pretended not to notice the numerous awkward selfies of Ellie with her neck awkwardly bent in strange angles…
And finally, something eerie appeared on the screen, neither a landscape nor an elf.
“…What is this?”
The image revealed a vast ocean.
A familiar blue horizon that could be seen from any coastline in Elvenheim.
But right in the middle of it, a dark, ominous island was floating.
Only a few dozen meters away from Elvenheim.
And, coincidentally, the island was surrounded by the same yellow barrier we had just seen.
And then
“There’s no doubt. It’s Barnaul.”
Through Ellie, I was able to confirm its identity.
***
Those who held grudges against Barnaul were not just the knights of Camelot.
“You fucking bastards!”
“Do you even know where you are?! How dare you?!”
The elves trembled with rage, spitting bits of bibimbap from between their front teeth as they shouted.
At this point, Earth had become their second home.
Even with their straw hats and their wild, furious eyes, they honestly didn’t look intimidating at all…
‘…But I can understand why.’
They had been utterly trampled by Barnaul before.
I still vividly remembered the sight of Elvenheim, withering away alongside the World Tree.
And now, right before our eyes, a Barnaul island had appeared.
Moreover, Barnaul’s enemies were not limited to just the elves.
Clatter! Clatter!
Druids of the Great Forest arrived, crossing the portal atop their stags.
Though they had been absent from the European front for a while, they rushed over the moment they heard the news of Barnaul’s reappearance.
And coincidentally…
“Those bastards aren’t even worthy of being turned into fertilizer for the World Tree!”
“They dared to take away the only joy the Multidimensional Universe allowed us!”
The druids continued to chew on World Tree leaves as they spoke.
For them, the ones who had stolen the World Tree were none other than Barnaul.
Camelot’s knights, the elves, and now the druids, three races that despised Barnaul had all gathered here.
However, there was one crucial matter we needed to consider.
I turned to the three races and spoke.
“They must have a way to track Camelot.”
It wasn’t as if I had just acquired the knights yesterday, yet until now, there had been no problems.
Camelot had remained inside my subspace ever since I obtained it, never once emerging.
There had only been one change.
“Because Camelot is here.”
In Elvenheim, the dwarves had their factories, and they were currently engraving mana circuits into Camelot itself.
The fact that Barnaul had settled where the knights once were in Europe and had set up a base near Elvenheim, where the factory was located, suggested that the Inspection Bureau had at least some ability to track Camelot, even if the accuracy was uncertain.
Moreover, preventing Barnaul from approaching Camelot was Lancelot’s firm stance.
“…Items produced by Barnaul come with ownership markers that allow warlocks to reclaim them. That’s likely why the Inspection Bureau brought Barnaul into this.”
At this rate, there was a real risk of losing the knights before we even had a chance to fight properly.
On top of that, due to the ongoing engraving work by the dwarves, Camelot couldn’t be placed back into my subspace.
There was no need to wait long, just one week from now, warlocks would come pouring out from that dark island.
“Jeong-gyeom nim, as long as we have the World Tree, we can fight.”
Was it because my expression was tense?
Ellie grabbed my arm, and the surrounding druids nodded in agreement.
They were beings who drew their power directly from the World Tree.
The elves could use their ‘Purification’ ability, while the druids could utilize ‘Regeneration’ to counter Barnaul’s dark magic.
In fact, the reason they had been targeted by Barnaul’s concentrated attacks in the past was precisely because they could wield the power of the World Tree.
“We must fight. And we must fight better.”
But that alone wouldn’t be enough.
The enemy’s goal wasn’t battle, it was the retrieval of Camelot.
If we allowed the warlocks to reach Camelot, they might reclaim it regardless of who won the fight.
As the owner of a logistics center, there was one thing I absolutely could not tolerate, having an item taken from me.
I immediately turned to Findrick, the chieftain of the druids.
“Can you expand spatial distortions across Elvenheim as well? I will provide an unlimited supply of World Tree leaves.”
“Well… looks like we’ll be planting trees nonstop for days. That suits me just fine.”
Barnaul had managed to find its way to Elvenheim, but that was the limit of their success.
We would soon gift them the twisted, labyrinthine paths of the druids.
And along those winding paths, the elves and druids would conduct relentless guerrilla warfare.
Moreover
“We’ll go with a pincer strategy. Since they came at us in two locations, we’ll make sure to slap them from both sides.”
Perhaps it was because I had been on the receiving end of their attacks before…
Ellie had once warned me about Barnaul, who resurrected the souls of the dead.
She said that soon, we would be fighting an immortal army that could endlessly revive.
But…
“They won’t be able to use the word ‘infinite’ anymore. At least, not in front of me.”
No one could boast about infinity in front of me.
After all, not being able to die on time is also a disease.
And I happened to have the perfect acupuncture needle to cure ‘immortality’.
Ding!
[Devour: For relevant targets, devours the souls of defeated enemies.]
A description attached to ‘Blessed Demon Devourer’.
If warlocks could bring back the souls of the dead, wouldn’t it be enough to simply devour them all?
Most of the preparations were complete.
I would hide Camelot in the maze-like paths of Elvenheim, and then go on a medical mission to treat the sick zombies of Europe.
Now all that remained was one thing: the right mindset.
“Will you be okay?”
Finally, I grabbed Lancelot’s shoulder.
Ever since we had encountered the undead in Europe, the skeleton knights had remained unusually tense.
Beyond just crushing Barnaul, I hoped they would overcome the trauma of their curse.
Thankfully, Lancelot seemed to have received some unseen strength from me.
“I will follow you.”
He nodded.
****
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The Fool
Lol. A one-sided battle once again. Barnaul be getting slapped by 3 races all at once xD