Chapter 1085

〈 Chapter 1085 〉 1085. Spirit’s Atlantis

“Federica! Kill those brats!!”

The man fighting head-on with the giant robot shouted.

“Sorry. My boyfriend has a bit of a temper. Don’t get the wrong idea. I’d rather resolve this through conversation.”

As the wind blew, her lush red hair rippled like waves.

“…”

Kang Myeong-jin cautiously moved, quietly observing his surroundings while gauging Full Strength. It seemed he had some knowledge about Federica and the Thorn Rose Legion.

I shifted my gaze to assess the situation. The massive robot, reaching 5M in size, was equipped with mechanical Tentacles wielding vicious weapons and firing missiles at a member of the Thorn Rose Legion. Despite being outnumbered in terms of gender, their strategy seemed stable.

‘That guy is holding up well.’

Standing at 2M tall, the muscular man with copper-toned skin wore light armor yet confronted the giant robot barehanded. His movements clearly indicated he was a martial artist.

‘No matter what his unique trait might be, he’s definitely fulfilling the role of a tank without heavy armor. He’s no ordinary guy.’

It wasn’t that the others were useless either. Everyone was playing their part effectively. They appeared quite skilled in battling large monsters.

“We’ve arrived too late. I concede.”

Kang Myeong-jin spoke, evidently judging it disadvantageous to fight the Thorn Rose Legion here. I agreed with Kang Myeong-jin. Compared to our group of six, their numbers exceeded ours by more than three times. There was even the possibility they had additional forces lying in wait.

“Surprisingly easy retreat? Thanks.”

Federica smiled with her eyes. For a moment, my attention was drawn to her. Though not on the level of Elena or Ju Seo-hyun, she was certainly a rare beauty.

I contemplated ways to seduce Federica. The simplest method would be rape. If the Legions went to war, raping her didn’t seem too difficult.

“In return, we’ll handle the mechanical monsters around here.”

“Hmm… This area belongs to our Thorn Rose Legion. Everything in this zone is our property. Do nothing and leave the area. Then we can maintain good relations moving forward.”

“I understand this area currently has no ruler.”

“The ruler will be decided soon. Look, our Legion is handling that big tin can just fine. At most, it’ll take two hours.”

“Hmm… From what I see, it’ll take over five hours. Before the Thorn Rose Legion officially gains control, this area remains unclaimed territory. We acknowledge your Legion arriving first to tackle the boss monster. However, that’s all we acknowledge. There’s a possibility the Thorn Rose Legion may fail. We must gain our own benefits from this area.”

“What if I don’t permit it?”

“Do you have the authority to deny? Ms. Federica is not yet the ruler of this area.”

“…Hmm. Do as you please. But once we topple that tin can and secure control, you’ll need to leave.”

“Of course. When that time comes, the Thorn Rose Legion will be recognized as the rightful rulers of this area.”


“Alright, let’s settle this.”

“I believe the A-Plan Region, which has grown faster than any legion so far… won’t do anything foolish.”

Federica smiled and waved her hand. It was an elegant gesture, but its meaning was clear. She was telling us to get lost.

We began to withdraw, with Kang Myeong-jin leading the way.

“Federica!! Kill those bastards!!”

“Sorry. Santa-nu is extremely sensitive during combat. He didn’t mean it seriously, so please understand.”

“We understand.”

And just like that, we retreated. Federica’s gaze stuck to us until the very end.

“Kang Myeong-jin. You seem to know something about the Thorn Rose Legion… Is it really that dangerous? Dangerous enough for us to abandon this sector?”

I asked Kang Myeong-jin. The Thorn Rose Legion isn’t mentioned in the original work or setting books. We have no information about them.

“One of the medium-sized legions near our region. If we only compare strength, the Thorn Rose Legion ranks above us. Especially their master, Federica, is no ordinary person. Known as the Queen of Fire, she’s infamous.”

“Are we really going to give up this sector just like that? Something feels off. They were probably tailing you and seized the opportunity. Given the situation, it seems unavoidable.”

“That might be true. However, we shouldn’t act emotionally. We’re at a disadvantage in an all-out war. They’ve likely been preparing for a legion war already. We need to maximize our gains here and quickly withdraw from this sector.”

Kang Myeong-jin spoke with conviction. Since he rarely makes wrong decisions in such situations, all members of our legion trusted him.

“There’s not enough time to kill minor mobs for profit, right? I saw earlier that the Thorn Rose Legion was overwhelming the giant robot. They’ll finish the raid soon.”

“It may seem that way now. But after observing them, there don’t appear to be any lightning-type ability users among them. Even if they can’t complete the raid, it’ll take them at least three hours. During that time, we’ll maximize our gains and leave the area. We’ll deal with the Thorn Rose Legion afterward.”

We ran around the mechanical park, grabbing everything we could.

Before we knew it, three hours had passed.

「A new ruler has emerged in Sector 2,910: Mechanical Park.」

“Let’s go back.”

Without hesitation, Kang Myeong-jin confirmed the notification window and said. We took out spatial teleportation scrolls from our inventory and tore them. In an instant, we left Sector 2,910.

•••

It’s been three days since the conflict with the Thorn Rose Legion.

The A-Plan Legion abandoned Sector 2,910. It was obvious that protesting would achieve nothing, and a legion war would cost more than we’d gain.

Lately, Federica’s face keeps popping into my mind. Every time I recall her rose-red hair and seductive smile, my pants feel tighter. I start thinking about ways to bring her down.

“Should I sneak in wearing a clown mask and start a fight?”

Rape isn’t something you can just do recklessly. She’s not an ordinary woman; she’s the master of a medium-sized legion. If I rush in carelessly, I might end up getting beaten instead.

In the afternoon, the legion master, Kang Myeong-jin, called me and other legion officers to the conference room.

“This morning, there was a disturbance in the village.”

The village Kang Myeong-jin referred to is located in Sector 601, the Red Fog Castle, where the A-Plan Legion is currently based. A fairly large village has formed outside the castle, which has continued to develop and is now almost city-sized.

“Disputes among villagers are common, aren’t they?”

Ji Young-bin said. As the village grew larger and the population increased, various problems arose. Disputes among villagers were frequent. Kang Myeong-jin had established a separate police force for such matters. This wasn’t something that required our meeting.

“An outsider is involved.”

“…Not an ordinary outsider, it seems.”

“It’s a merchant and mercenary from Sector 970, the City of Roses.”


“It seems someone got into a scuffle with a pedestrian for not paying the right price or bumping shoulders. Now they’re temporarily detained in the holding cell.”

The conference room atmosphere instantly turned icy.

Zone 970, the City of Roses, is the stronghold of the Thorn Rose Legion. Meaning, this incident was likely a deliberate approach by the Thorn Rose Legion.

“Building justification, huh.”

Yoo Seohee’s younger brother and magician of the A-Plan Legion, Yoo Inha, continued.

“A common tactic. Creating minor frictions to build up small justifications that eventually lead to war. It’s quite a famous strategy.”

The reason for building justification was reputation. If your reputation hits rock bottom, it gives surrounding legions an excuse to attack. In the worst case, a legion alliance might form and launch a concentrated assault.

“Are they targeting us?”

Joo Seohyun asked for confirmation.

“It’s still hard to be sure. But considering past conflicts with the Thorn Rose Legion… it’s almost certain. We need to prepare for war.”

War.

The heavy word came out. Worry spread across everyone’s faces, yet no one suggested avoiding the war.

The stronger a legion becomes, the harder it is to avoid inter-legion wars. To avoid war would mean giving up everything built through blood and sweat so far.

“Are we just going to sit here and let the enemy dictate our moves?”

I asked.

“We can’t just sit idle. If we do, they’ll completely disregard us. But it feels weird to act over something this trivial. And it’s not like the Thorn Rose Legion has officially declared anything.”

As Kang Myungjin said, on the surface, it was merely a merchant and mercenary from Zone 970 causing trouble. The A-Plan Legion lacked solid justification to directly condemn the Thorn Rose Legion.

“For now, while preparing for war, we’ll observe how the Thorn Rose Legion moves.”

Intelligence Officer Kim Man-gi sighed.

“Preparing for war… I understand it’s unavoidable, but the budget’s gonna take a hit. And since this is our first large-scale war, I don’t really know what we need to prepare. Master, what should we get ready?”

“Acquiring war supplies won’t be too difficult. This isn’t a national war after all. We don’t plan to drag this inter-legion war out either. The key is manpower. Look into the mercenary market.”

The meeting continued on the topic of war.

•••

I separately investigated the Thorn Rose Legion. Luckily, I had some useful contacts in the Black Liquor Gang.

Meeting with Li Mei, I enjoyed some quality time with her in bed before receiving her report on the Thorn Rose Legion.

“The Thorn Rose Legion. Quite a well-known group.”

“Well-known? I’ve never heard of them.”

“Among those in the underground world, you mean. Their leader, Federica, comes from the Baches Family.”

“Baches Family?”

“They were a mafia force two years ago. Back then, they were about as strong as our Black Liquor Gang… but internal strife caused their downfall. Federica was a high-ranking officer there.”

“So she’s got impressive origins. But what matters isn’t the past, it’s now. Any weaknesses in the Thorn Rose Legion?”

“They run a few shops in the shadows, but nothing significant enough to cause problems.”

This place wasn’t like modern society.

Minor crimes were often overlooked.

And if a zone ruler openly committed crimes within their territory, there was no real way to stop them.

“What about Federica’s boyfriend?”

“You mean Santano? He was also a middle-ranking officer in the Baches Family.”

“And their jobs, contracted spirit constellations, unique traits?”

“Not all of it, but I found out a few things.”

Li Mei shared all the information she gathered with me. I stuffed every detail about the Thorn Rose Legion into my head.