Chapter 31. A-Rank Constellation (3)
[B-Rank Constellation ‘Murderer with Two Axes’ is delighted by the bloody conclusion.]
[B-Rank Constellation ‘Murderer with Two Axes’ sponsors Lee Jukheon with 2 million coins.]
[A-Rank Constellation ‘Naval Commander with a Pitchfork’ is satisfied with the refreshing conclusion.]
[A-Rank Constellation ‘Naval Commander with a Pitchfork’ sponsors Kang Yujin with 1 million coins.]
[A-Rank Constellation ‘Naval Commander with a Pitchfork’ sponsors Seok Taejun with 1 million coins.]
[A-Rank Constellation ‘Naval Commander with a Pitchfork’ sponsors Lee Jukheon with 1 million coins.]
[A-Rank Constellation ‘Adventurous Sailor’ is delighted that the villains who launched a cowardly surprise attack were punished.]
[A-Rank Constellation ‘Adventurous Sailor’ sponsors Kang Yujin with 2 million coins.]
[A-Rank Constellation ‘Adventurous Sailor’ sponsors Seok Taejun with 2 million coins.]
[A-Rank Constellation ‘Adventurous Sailor’ sponsors Lee Jukheon with 2 million coins.]
“Those bastards, seriously…!”
As she watched the endless stream of messages from the Constellations appearing on the observation device, the A-Rank Constellation ‘Witch of the Eagle,’ Kirke, exploded in anger.
“A cowardly surprise attack?! The Black Dragon Society ambushed the Iron Blood Squad too!!”
Most of the Constellations watching the battle were speaking from a viewpoint favorable to the Black Dragon Society—or more precisely, to Kang Yujin’s group.
Team Hecate, who had ambushed Kang Yujin’s group, had simply become the villains.
And when their surprise attack ended in failure, everyone cheered.
“Damn it! I never thought Lee Jukheon would counterattack at that moment…!”
Kirke knew Lee Jukheon quite well.
In her opinion, he was nothing more than a trash contractor who relied on an incredible weapon called the Qinggang Sword while living like a common thug.
Yet that same Lee Jukheon had approached Team Hecate at a speed beyond imagination and slaughtered them with lightning-fast swordsmanship.
The entire battle had turned around because of him.
She had never imagined Lee Jukheon could display such a heroic side.
“This is driving me insane…!”
Originally, Kirke had several contractors in Europe whom she greatly favored.
However, they had suffered a crushing defeat in a battle against another faction and were left in a state where recovery was almost impossible.
Because of that, she had recently been using Team Hecate to build a new power base in Korea’s central-western region.
Her plan had been to crush both the Iron Blood Squad and the Black Dragon Society and take control of the region.
Instead, Team Hecate had been annihilated.
Everything she had planned had gone up in smoke.
“You seem to be in quite a bad mood, Kirke.”
Suddenly, a voice came from beside her.
Kirke turned her head.
A handsome man with long, curly black hair was standing there.
“I suppose that can’t be helped, considering how badly things turned out.”
“Iason…!”
The B-Rank Constellation ‘Leader of the Expedition.’
Iason, one of the heroes of Greece, had appeared in Kirke’s throne room.
“How dare you show your face in front of me?!”
“Hmm? Did I do something wrong?”
“Don’t play innocent!”
Kirke glared at him and shouted.
“You were the one who gave me information about Kang Yujin’s group… and encouraged me to attack them!”
“Did I encourage you? I don’t remember saying anything like that.”
“Don’t try to avoid responsibility!”
“Don’t say something ridiculous, Kirke.”
Iason shrugged.
“The responsibility is entirely yours. You were the one who sent Team Hecate to launch the surprise attack. You were the one who killed Hahueun and contacted the Nameless Constellation. Every single one of those decisions was made by you, wasn’t it?”
“W-What?”
“Besides, while I was watching this battle…”
A smile appeared on Iason’s lips.
“I was actually cheering for Kang Yujin’s group. Though I didn’t send them any sponsorship money.”
“W-What did you say?”
He had been cheering for Kang Yujin’s group instead of Team Hecate?
“D-Don’t you have a grudge against Kang Yujin?! A video of you getting beaten up by him was uploaded to Constellation Tube! You were completely humiliated!”
“I don’t particularly care.”
Iason replied with an extremely calm expression.
“And it wasn’t really that humiliating. My reputation among the Constellations wasn’t very good to begin with.”
He gave a small laugh.
“Everyone just thought, ‘Well, if it’s Iason, it makes sense that he’d get beaten up like that.’ Thanks to that, my image didn’t really fall, and there wasn’t much change in my Origin Power either.”
“…!”
If it had happened to another famous hero, their Origin Power would probably have plummeted immediately.
Their prestige as a Constellation would have taken a huge blow.
But Iason had always been considered a weak fighter and a somewhat pathetic figure.
Getting beaten up by Kang Yujin hadn’t damaged his image.
“But you’re different, aren’t you?”
“W-What?”
“Kirke, you always made sure your Origin Power never dropped below 200 million, right? I wonder how much you have now.”
Directly interfering with contractors on the surface required a large amount of Origin Power.
Creating Team Hecate alone had required hundreds of millions of Origin Power.
But even while spending such huge amounts, Kirke had carefully managed her reserves so that she would never completely run out.
She was afraid of going ‘bankrupt’ and losing her qualifications as a Constellation.
That was why Kirke always made sure her Origin Power remained above 200 million.
She believed that if she kept at least 200 million in reserve, even a major failure wouldn’t be enough to bankrupt her.
“M-My current Origin Power…”
Kirke hurriedly opened her Constellation status window.
And then she froze.
“180 million points…?!”
She couldn’t believe it.
That very morning, she had possessed more than 250 million.
She had spent quite a bit of Origin Power on Team Hecate during the surprise attack and their battle against Kang Yujin’s group.
Even so, she definitely hadn’t spent more than 50 million.
Yet now she only had 180 million points.
It had crashed below 200 million.
“W-Why did it fall this much?!”
“Isn’t it obvious? Kang Yujin’s group is receiving attention from many Constellations right now.”
Iason smiled.
“The other Constellations already noticed that you were controlling Team Hecate. Many of them were uncomfortable with how heavily you interfered in today’s surprise attack. On top of that, you even killed Hahueun.”
“…!”
“You struggled so desperately and made yourself look pathetic… and after all that, you still lost.”
Iason continued calmly.
“Remember what I said earlier? Getting beaten up by Kang Yujin wasn’t humiliating for me.”
He leaned his face closer to Kirke with a smile.
“But for you, it was different.”
Kirke’s expression stiffened.
“It was truly humiliating, Kirke.”
“U-Uuuugh…!”
A groan escaped Kirke’s mouth.
“Lee Jukheon lost his battle against Kang Yujin, but he still received applause from the Constellations because he put on an impressive fight. But you weren’t like that.”
Iason’s smile deepened.
“You became an object of ridicule among the other Constellations. Naturally, your Origin Power had no choice but to plummet.”
“Ughhhh…!”
“And let me warn you—you shouldn’t assume it’ll stop at 180 million.”
Kirke stared at him.
“The Nameless Constellation will probably upload a video to Constellation Tube soon. Once the story spreads even further, your Origin Power will fall even more.”
Iason casually added,
“Who knows? It might even drop below 100 million.”
Below 100 million.
Kirke swallowed hard when she heard those words.
Of course, dropping below 100 million wouldn’t immediately bankrupt her.
Many Constellations lived perfectly well with only tens of millions of Origin Power.
