Chapter 165: Cheon Dana Was Not Angry.
At that moment, the Mountain Guild, which had hurriedly withdrawn from the Elf’s Great Forest Gate, quickly gathered at the Mountain Guild branch near the Cheongju Wanseo Research Institute.
Originally, they had gone to recover the fragments of the Great Forest, but instead of engaging in a proper battle or retrieving the fragments, they were rendered powerless the moment they entered the forest, getting utterly beaten by "Your Rivers and Mountains, Forever Green."
Even though they decided to retreat in order to clean up and handle the aftermath of the research institute that had been bombed by the pigeons, the result was disastrous.
Not only did they lose all the capital, confidential information, and research results that the Mountain Guild had invested in the Cheongju Wanseo Research Institute, but they also lost the Demon King's fragment, which had been stored in the underground lab.
The executives of the Mountain Guild, led by Cheon Dana, were all powerful individuals, with most of them on the verge of reaching S-rank from A+ rank, and some had already attained S-rank on their own.
Even with such strength, when they tried to stop the birds carrying Spirit Core Bombs in their beaks with all their might, they found themselves trapped in the Great Forest, their pursuit of the pigeon swarm slowed.
With various factors overlapping, shooting down the massive flock of pigeons, which filled the sky, was an impossible task.
They managed to capture some of the giant pigeons, but in the end, the pigeons that escaped the Great Forest began dropping the mysterious corn kernels like bombs over China.
At the impact sites, enormous forests began to explosively grow.
As soon as Cheon Dana and the high-ranking executives of the Mountain Guild exited the Great Forest to chase after the remaining pigeons, the Elf's Great Forest immediately shut the gate again.
Thus, the massive forest region that had formed in the southern outskirts of the Gobi Desert gradually expanded, completely covering all the routes leading to the Cheongju Wanseo Industrial Complex.
It would have been fortunate if it had ended there, but the Elves' Spirit Core Bombs, disguised as corn, even affected a top-secret underground research facility of the Chinese government.
No, "affected" would be an understatement.
The research facility, the industrial complex, and even the highly classified underground lab were completely overrun by trees and vines generated by the Spirit Core Bombs.
From the outside, it simply looked like a pleasant forest had appeared, so it wouldn't seem like a major disaster or a terrorist attack had occurred.
Disasters and terrorism usually bring fire and destruction, but the Elves’ Spirit Core Bombs were cleverly designed to block and prevent human access.
However, the underground research facility contained numerous secret experiments and their results, all of which were brimming with immense life force and mana.
Due to the nature of the Spirit Core Bombs, which absorbed life force to cast large-scale forest terraforming, the underground received an even more overwhelming transformation than the surface.
Because the underground facility stored countless monsters’ life energy and test subjects from illegal experiments violating international law, there was no shortage of life force to fuel the Spirit Core Bombs.
As a result, no one died.
However, both the Chinese government and the numerous Hunter Guilds within China that had sponsored the Cheongju Wanseo Research Institute suffered irreparable losses.
Especially for the Mountain Guild, which had been the largest investor in the Cheongju Wanseo Research Institute, losing the institute—where they had even commissioned research on the Demon King's fragment—was utterly unacceptable.
"I can't take this anymore! We need to wipe out those damn forest guardians!"
After returning to the Mountain Guild headquarters in Shaanxi Province, the executives were seething with fury.
"We have more than enough reason to wage full-scale war! Even the Party has suffered immense damage!"
"That's right. This crosses the line. Even if there were no casualties, this is still an attack on critical facilities!"
"Those filthy Elves… Do they think Earth belongs to them? How dare these outsiders…!"
The executives of the Mountain Guild were all high-level Hunters, at least A-rank and on the verge of reaching S-rank.
They had strong pride in themselves and an immense sense of honor as the guardians of Shaanxi Province under the Mountain Guild.
Considering that, it was only natural for them to be enraged after being utterly humiliated by the Elves without being able to put up a proper fight.
It was infuriating enough that they were forced to flee from the Great Forest and return to the Mountain Guild in disgrace, but now, the Cheongju Wanseo Research Institute—one of their most crucial facilities—had been completely destroyed.
The institute had been built with massive investments from the Mountain Guild, including the Demon King's fragment. Losing it was simply unacceptable for them.
"Guild Master, we need an extermination operation!"
"That's right!"
"Now is the perfect time to harness the power of the fragment!"
At an executive’s outcry, Cheon Dana silently sipped her tea.
Having exerted a great deal of her life force to rescue the executives from the Great Forest, the tea tasted particularly special.
"Guild Master, we have trained for this very moment! We have tamed the fragment, and we have honed our bodies and mastered our strength to synchronize with its power!"
"It is time to see the fruits of our efforts."
"That's right. Why else have we built our strength?"
"Forget international relations. A decision must be made! They have humiliated us and inflicted such wounds upon us—there is no reason not to go to war!"
"With our forces, even the Elves will eventually…!"
"…Hoo."
However, unlike the enraged executives, Cheon Dana simply drank her tea in an elegant and quiet manner.
*Click.*
*Trickle…*
Having finished her tea, Cheon Dana began pouring a new cup without even responding to the executives' words.
"Guild Master!"
"We need to act quickly!"
"We must show those damned otherworldly Elves the price of underestimating us…!"
"Silence."
"…!"
For the first time, Cheon Dana spoke, and her voice was chillingly cold.
Only then did the executives realize.
Cheon Dana wasn’t ignoring them or drinking tea out of indifference toward the Elves.
It was quite the opposite.
While everyone else was exploding with rage, furious at the Elves who had brought such great humiliation upon them, Cheon Dana was instead maintaining her composure, calmly analyzing the situation while steadying her mind and body.
As the leader of Shaanxi Province and the master of the world's largest guild, Cheon Dana sought to assess the situation as objectively as possible.
Rather than letting her fury consume her like an erupting volcano, she held her anger deep inside, as cold and silent as the north wind.
"The Party has issued orders."
At Cheon Dana's words, the executives swallowed hard.
"They have forbidden further conflict."
"What?"
"What did you just say…?"
"No way…!"
"No, no… What does that even mean?!"
"In other words, we were just a test subject."
Cheon Dana blew on the steaming tea.
"From the Party’s perspective, if we had succeeded in subjugating the Elves of the Great Forest, that would have been ideal. However, the outcome was that not only the Gobi Desert but also the Cheongju Wanseo Research Institute was struck precisely. As a result, the national secret research facility has been buried under the forest, and the Demon King’s fragment we were supposed to recover, as well as the secret longevity research for high-ranking Party officials, have all been lost. The Party had given us the mission indirectly, through the guise of a commission. If things had gone well, they would have taken all the credit. But since things went wrong, they are now shifting all the blame onto us."
"So the Party is throwing us under the bus?!"
"Then that’s even better! That gives us the justification to wage war against the Elves…!"
"No, the Party has taken the justification for themselves."
"What…?"
Cheon Dana took a sip of her tea.
The green tea was slightly bitter, but the faint sweetness that lingered at the end made it worth drinking.
"The Party finds it utterly humiliating that they lost to a mere 30,000 Elves without even declaring war."
"……"
"Think rationally, gentlemen."
Cheon Dana’s eyes curved like those of a fox.
She appeared to be smiling, but the executives who had served her for a long time recognized the cold fury hidden within that smile.
"More than the damage suffered by our Mountain Guild and the research institute, the Party does not want the world to know that its Hunters and military power were defeated by Elves from another world. They believe that human losses can always be replenished at any time."
"No, but still!"
"Then let’s analyze the situation objectively, shall we? The Elves can open and close gates at will. They also have weapons that absorb life force from the surrounding area and explosively grow massive forests. If the Elves decide to avoid a full-scale war and instead open a gate in the middle of a city, using their forest-creating weapon before retreating—what do you think would happen?"
"That, that would…!"
"The Party refuses to acknowledge defeat without even declaring war on the Elves, so they will likely offer us no support. They have also taken away our justification for attacking the Elves. Most likely, the current chairman does not want major disruptions ahead of the upcoming Party Congress. The moment word spreads internationally that China has been humiliated by the Elves, the predatory Western nations will pounce, and neither South Korea nor Japan is foolish enough to miss such an opportunity."
Since the Great Rift occurred and the Hunter era began, both South Korea and Japan had grown stronger in national power.
Even though China currently had the largest number of Hunters, those countries could not be underestimated.
More importantly, South Korea had Yeonseo—a living legend.
Although she had retired and maintained political neutrality, if she ever decided to pursue national interests and clashed with China, it would become a massive headache for both China and the Mountain Guild.
Besides, Yeonseo had already destroyed the Mountain Guild’s secret research facility on the surface.
So far, that had been tolerable, but now that the Cheongju Wanseo Research Institute had been hit by the Elves’ green terraforming, further losses would be dangerous.
"Indeed. But I do not doubt your abilities. However, if they refuse to engage us directly, even your proud strength will be of no use. You might suggest sneaking in like before, but let’s be real—the fact that the Elves didn’t close the gate immediately was a trap, wasn’t it? They allowed our entry because they knew they could handle us."
"......"
"Grr…"
"Tsk…"
"Then do we just sit here and do nothing, Guild Master?!"
"The Party has ordered us to stand down. For now, we have no choice."
Cheon Dana took another sip of her tea, calming her thoughts with a deep sigh.
The situation aligned too perfectly.
Everything was unfolding in a way that was detrimental to the Mountain Guild, almost as if someone had orchestrated it deliberately.
"And besides, I have no desire to get further entangled with the Elves."
"What do you mean by that, Guild Master?!"
"Shall we assume that we storm into the Elves' dungeon and engage in direct combat, just as you all wish? Of course, with our Mountain Guild, it would be possible to defeat their 30,000 Elves."
The Mountain Guild was the world’s largest guild, home to the highest number of A-rank and S-rank Hunters.
Its status was not earned in vain.
If a direct confrontation were possible, victory or defeat could be determined.
"But do you think we wouldn't bleed in the process?"
".....!"
Every single one of those 30,000 Elves possessed combat power equivalent to an A-rank Hunter.
This wouldn't be a minor skirmish with a few rogue elements—it would be a war against a massive army from another world.
The immense human and resource losses from such a battle would be difficult for even the Mountain Guild to bear.
It would inevitably lead to the Mountain Guild losing its position as the world's top guild, and recovery could take years.
And was the Great Forest truly valuable enough to justify such losses?
Naturally, that question arose.
"The Party’s stance is that the Elves are ultimately not profitable, and even if we could defeat them, the losses would be too great. No, more than that—His Excellency the Chairman, who dreams of becoming the Emperor of the Central Plains, does not want his power base shaken by such chaos. Besides, since our Mountain Guild almost fully funded the construction of the Cheongju Wanseo Research Institute, the Party sees little consequence in sacrificing it. On the contrary, with a forest growing there now, the elderly who favor nature might even appreciate it."
"Tsk…"
Cheon Dana took another sip of her tea.
As the enraged executives gritted their teeth, she simply continued drinking.
Sip.
And another sip.
"Hoo…"
However, beyond her anger, Cheon Dana was calmly analyzing and understanding the Elves.
'The scale of destruction they caused, stretching in a straight line from the Gobi Desert all the way to my research facility… Unlike nuclear weapons, this weapon has no inherent risk in its use, and depending on how it’s employed, it can specifically drain only the life force of Hunters…'
Realizing that such a weapon belonged to her enemies, Cheon Dana concluded that engaging in a full-scale war would result in unacceptable losses.
'And now, I hear that the Elves have established themselves in Korea… If that’s true, then it’s already beyond the Mountain Guild’s capability to handle them alone. If the Elves voluntarily affiliated themselves with a particular country, that would be the quickest way to prevent us from retaliating… Ha, those Elf bitches sure know how to strategize.'
In such a short period, the Elves had turned China into their adversary while simultaneously securing maximum benefits and ensuring their own safety by aligning with a nation.
They would seek out a country with considerable national power, preferably one that still maintained opposition against China in the modern era—either the United States or a nation connected to the U.S.
The optimal choice would be Japan across the sea, but South Korea, with Yeonseo standing firm, was also a viable option for them.
If the Elves became part of a nation or scattered through asylum in foreign countries, the Mountain Guild and China would lose their clear target—the Great Forest.
And with Yeonseo standing tall in Korea, any attempt to interfere in their internal affairs would be impossible.
"But that doesn’t mean there are no other ways."
"Do you mean…!"
A direct confrontation was out of the question, but there were other means to achieve their goals.
And most importantly, after losing the research facility, the Mountain Guild's reserves of the fragments had significantly decreased.
'Now that I think about it… there was a suitable candidate in Korea…'
Wasn’t her name Yoon-jung?
If they hadn’t secured her, it would have been one thing.
But given the Mountain Guild’s current situation, the losses they had suffered were too great.
In such circumstances, the existence of a rare and precious suitable individual was invaluable.
If possible… they had to secure her.
"Summon all our contacts in Korea."