Unbelievably, the king of Utgard, Utgard-Loki, had died. Not even his body was left. A fire had blazed forth from the king's pierced chest, devouring his body as if the flames were alive. His body disappeared completely and turned into ashes as everything around it burned.
The insane giants had also suffered a similar fate. Although Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn't sure what method the king had used, the insane giants began to run rampant after they lost their master. Rampaging thoughtlessly without any semblance of control, they were quickly killed by the remaining giants.
If anything, it seemed as though being cut down was a relief for them.
"Thank you…"
In the end, an insane giant thanked Thjazi right before he had been killed as if his mind had returned somewhat the moment before death.
Now, the king was dead, the insane giants cleared out, and the royal palace was in ruins.
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around with the energy he had been restored, feeling a sense of contentment after being sponsored by the Sky of the Apocalypse.
'It's not over.'
"Mr. Lee…"
Jeong In-Chang stood next to Lee Jun-Kyeong alongside the pure white wolf, Fenrir, who also stood guard.
As for the rest of their allies, they each went off toward their respective sides.
“What is this?”
The Nar had gone to Thrymr’s side while the Utgardian giants over to Thjazi.
“...”
Finally, the humans went toward Liu Bei.
The four factions stood in their respective places. While the battle was over, the tension had not been relieved.
‘The fight may not be over yet.'
Now, they found themselves in a standoff where anyone could be an ally or an enemy. The only exception was Lee Jun-Kyeong, who stood watching from the side as a bystander.
‘Will they split into three sides?’
Thrymr’s Nar, Thjazi’s Utgardians, Liu Bei and the Chinese Hunters, the three sides were like a lit fuse, where any movement could cause mayhem that would never end.
However, Thrymr spoke out, calling for someone, “Liu Bei.”
The giant’s body was punctured with holes from the king’s blows and his voice betrayed his exhaustion as he said to the Chinese Hunter, "I will keep my promise."
Even in the shaky and weary voice, a firm conviction could be heard alongside the promise.
Liu Bei nodded with satisfaction. After all, a considerable number of Human Hunters had also been sacrificed in the intense battle.
The giant continued, "Thjazi."
He looked at Thjazi. Facing him, the giant could see that Thjazi’s face was as full of conflicting emotions as his own. There were as many wounds on Thjazi’s body as there were on Thrymr.
The two looked strikingly similar.
Thrymr stated firmly, "Kill me."
"…!"
The giant fell to his knees and continued, “Regardless of the reason, I am a traitor covered with the blood of my people. My vengeance and cause have ended here. Just…”
Thrymr shook his head and looked at Thjazi.
“The only thing that I ask…the ones that followed me, the Nar…I just ask that you let them live…” he said, lowering his head again.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The colossal giant Thjazi walked toward Thrymr.
"…"
All of a sudden, he was holding a large axe in his hand.
Everyone held their breath.
Now, at this moment, no one was allowed to advise Thjazi. This was Thrymr's resolve and Thjazi's choice. They were two giants who had fought for their race.
Their intentions were the same, but their methods were different. They may have gotten the result they had wanted, but the aftereffects of their choices were different.
“I see.”
Because of that, with a quiet voice, Thjazi’s ax fell.
Thud!
***
"Thjazi,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to the giant lying on the bed. The giant was a mess. However, even still, there wasn’t a single bandage to be seen on his body.
‘I guess…’
Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if there was even a bandage he could put on the giant. There was a chance he would have to uproot the very foundation of Utgard in order to find a bandage large enough to cover Thjazi’s wounds.
After the rebellion had ended, everyone who eventually learned about Utgard’s internal affairs had been bewildered.
There was nothing left in Utgard.
While they didn’t know where in the world and on what the king had spent all of the resources, the few remaining supplies were already disappearing. It was a situation in which all the giants could starve in a short time if this continued.
Things had gotten so bad that they had reached the cusp of a revolt.
“Jugyung. Have you arrived?”
“I told you, my name is Lee Jun-Kyeong.”
Lying on a hospital bed, Thjazi turned his eyes to look at Lee Jun-Kyeong. The Hunter was smiling like someone who had made a harmless joke.
"Don't you hate me?"
Lee Jun-Kyeong had asked the question he had held in his mind, his clear eyes staring back at the giant.
If he hadn’t declared his surrender at the crucial moment, then many things could have ended differently. He may not have been able to defeat Thrymr, but he could have led the retreat and returned to defend Utgard once again.
‘No, I could have taken him down too.’
Regardless of what could have happened, it was undeniable that his choices had a profound effect on these giants.
However, to his surprise, Thjazi expressed his gratitude, "Thank you."
The giant continued, "Thanks to you, I was able to make the right choice. You…"
Thjazi raised his thumb toward Lee Jun-Kyeong. It was a thumb that seemed to be at least three times taller than Lee Jun-Kyeong's height.
"You are no different from our warguard."
He was being called a warguard rather than a mercenary. Lee Jun-Kyeong laughed bitterly. "I don't have enough potions to restore your body."
He threw in some jokes to loosen the awkward atmosphere.
“Ha Ta is helping me a lot. He also said that he wouldn’t be able to give me acupuncture. Something about it not being any different than getting bit by a mosquito,” the giant responded.
The two of them chatted for a while. Then, the light in Lee Jun-Kyeong's eyes changed.
They seemed a little more steady and a little bit worried.
"Thjazi." Lee Jun-Kyeong carefully asked his next question, "Do you not regret your choice?"
***
“To think he would say he didn’t have any regrets…” Lee Jun-Kyeong murmured to himself as he walked down the streets of Utgard.
When he had asked the giant if he had any regrets, Thjazi had responded without any hesitation.
“I don’t regret it.”
Seeing those unshakable eyes and hearing that unwavering voice, it was as if he had asked something that he shouldn't have even questioned.
Lee Jun-Kyeong chuckled. It was good to have no regrets about what happened.
Clang, clang!
Furthermore, Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around the noisy street.
"Let's fix this from this side first!"
"Be careful!"
The giants were repairing the city that was destroyed by the rebellion. Originally, it should have been impossible to restore due to the lack of materials.
‘To think they would destroy the royal palace and use its materials.’
Thjazi had been more decisive than expected. Instead of restoring the ruined Utgardian royal palace, he instead had it completely disassembled and used its parts as materials he supplied to the giants.
Although that alone most likely wouldn’t be enough, it would have to do for now as it was something that had to be done urgently.
Lee Jun-Kyeong walked down the street, his surroundings getting noisy and noisier.
'Good.'
The street was full of life.
It really was strange. The king who had ruled and ordered them around had been killed by a rebellion, and the rebels had taken over the fortress.
However, the giants, who could be called civilians, were busy moving even more vigorously than before.
‘Had he been a tyrant?’
The king was someone who had been confusing at the very least. Whether it was the strength he had shown for a few moments or his presence, none of that really made sense. However, at this moment, Lee Jun-Kyeong was sure about one thing. The king’s presence had clearly been something negative if not a malicious tumor to the giants.
"Mr. Lee!"
There was someone waving at Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was immersed in thought.
It was Jeong In-Chang.
Jeong In-Chang spoke out again, "I'm going to help them out for a bit!"
He was helping the giants at the recovery site with a bright smile.
"Goongje!"
The princess was also with him. As expected from the soulmates, the two moved about quickly and were monopolizing the love of the giants.
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled at their happy appearances. Finally, he had arrived at his destination.
"…"
It was the human residential area where he had become a mercenary and lived for a while. He stood in front of what had been his shabby home. Things were a mess here as well.
Although it was said that it hadn’t suffered any harm from the advance of the Nar, it seemed to be in an even worse state than the giants’ residences.
As he looked at the place in front of him, completely broken and ruined, someone pulled on his sleeve.
"Mister."
“I told you to call me oppa. I’m not a mister,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded as he took out some leftover candies from his inventory and handed them over.
The child, Jang Si-Eon, accepted it.
“For what?”
“Teacher Hua Tuo…and that Liu Bei Mister…and even the other adults…”
Jang Si-Eon spoke while counting with her fingers. Eventually, she stopped counting and smiled brightly at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
"It was all thanks to you, Mister—no, Oppa."
Lee Jun-Kyeong patted Jang Si-Eon's head without answering.
He stood in the midst of a ruined human settlement area, but to think that a child had still approached to thank him. Something felt strange.
As he looked over at the living area again, someone else came up and said, “Thank you.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong made a puzzled face at the appearance of a woman he seemed to have met for the first time. However, the woman spoke before he could say anything.
“I’m Si-Eon’s mother. I heard that you had also helped me before when I was sick…but I’ve only been able to introduce myself now,” she said as she pushed a potato into Lee Jun-Kyeong’s hands.
“...”
“As this is everything I have…if we meet again later, I’ll surely repay you in a wonderful way.”
After she expressed her thanks, the woman took Si-Eon and walked away.
‘A wonderful repayment, huh.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong thought for a moment as he looked at the potato in his hand. When they were in Mt. Baekdu, there had been so many potatoes that he hadn’t even wanted to look at them.
However, here, as the woman had said, it was everything, as it was difficult to find food in a barren land that had become a land of ice.
Lee Jun-Kyeong asked himself a question.
Wasn’t this act of giving him everything they had also a wonderful repayment?
Crash!
At that moment, several buildings collapsed.
“Oh dear, I told you to be careful!”
He heard people’s voices.
"You have to dismantle it! You can't break it!"
There were people in that direction, destroying the houses they had lived in and collecting the wreckage.
Lee Jun-Kyeong approached them and asked them a question, “Do you know where those people are?”
Although it was out of the blue, the residents smiled brightly and responded, “They are over on that side!”
"Thanks!"
"Thank you!"
As Lee Jun-Kyeong walked in the direction indicated by the residents, the residents' thanks echoed from behind him.
***
“Heave, ho!”
The area where Lee Jun-Kyeong had arrived had a construction site that was busier than the residential area on the outer border where his previous house had been located.
Destruction was taking place around him, and the residents were laughing as they demolished their homes and rejoicing as they lifted up the rubble.
In the midst of that “gruesome” scene, two men called out to him.
“Mr. Jun-Kyeong.”
“Lee Jun-Kyeong.”
One was Hua Tuo, also known as Won-Hwa, the man he had come to China for.
The other was Liu Bei.
“What’s going on?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
The man in front of him had supposedly betrayed the humans around him and stood on the side of the Nar, but in truth, he had made such a hard choice for his people.
Now, the results were showing.
After winning the battle and getting what he had desired, Liu Bei had come back and explained the details to the others. In return, the humans of Utgard moved on as if it wasn’t a big deal.
‘Well…’
‘As we haven’t suffered any irreparable damage…’
The results of their talks had been good, and that was why this sort of destruction was taking place now.
“Where do you think you all will go?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
Liu Bei shrugged. “I don’t know yet. My two younger brothers are currently conducting reconnaissance over a few places we had seen before, so we should decide it soon.”
This was the result that had been obtained by winning the battle. All of the humans in Utgard had decided to leave the fortress. This was a place where they were completely different in civilization, culture, history, and even race.
Utgard was the safest place for them, and if they chose to stay in the fortress, they most likely would have been able to find peace with them someday…
“Soon, we will take back our country.”
The residents had decided to join in the cause of Liu Bei.
They wanted to try for the reconstruction of China. For that to happen, the people of China had to exist, and so these residents would become the people of reconstructed China.
"The giants have agreed to help protect us until we are settled,” the Hunter said.
Liu Bei seemed to be satisfied with everything.
"And again… There will be a lot of work to be done in the future."
He looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
"I will travel around mainland China as soon as the residents have settled down. Just in case, I have to go search for survivors that we may not know about."
Having said that, he looked at the residents and continued, "Furthermore… There is something I would like you to help with."
Liu Bei's eyes were trembling.
Unbelievably, the king of Utgard, Utgard-Loki, had died. Not even his body was left. A fire had blazed forth from the king's pierced chest, devouring his body as if the flames were alive. His body disappeared completely and turned into ashes as everything around it burned.
The insane giants had also suffered a similar fate. Although Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn't sure what method the king had used, the insane giants began to run rampant after they lost their master. Rampaging thoughtlessly without any semblance of control, they were quickly killed by the remaining giants.
If anything, it seemed as though being cut down was a relief for them.
"Thank you…"
In the end, an insane giant thanked Thjazi right before he had been killed as if his mind had returned somewhat the moment before death.
Now, the king was dead, the insane giants cleared out, and the royal palace was in ruins.
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around with the energy he had been restored, feeling a sense of contentment after being sponsored by the Sky of the Apocalypse.
'It's not over.'
"Mr. Lee…"
Jeong In-Chang stood next to Lee Jun-Kyeong alongside the pure white wolf, Fenrir, who also stood guard.
As for the rest of their allies, they each went off toward their respective sides.
“What is this?”
The Nar had gone to Thrymr’s side while the Utgardian giants over to Thjazi.
“...”
Finally, the humans went toward Liu Bei.
The four factions stood in their respective places. While the battle was over, the tension had not been relieved.
‘The fight may not be over yet.'
Now, they found themselves in a standoff where anyone could be an ally or an enemy. The only exception was Lee Jun-Kyeong, who stood watching from the side as a bystander.
‘Will they split into three sides?’
Thrymr’s Nar, Thjazi’s Utgardians, Liu Bei and the Chinese Hunters, the three sides were like a lit fuse, where any movement could cause mayhem that would never end.
However, Thrymr spoke out, calling for someone, “Liu Bei.”
The giant’s body was punctured with holes from the king’s blows and his voice betrayed his exhaustion as he said to the Chinese Hunter, "I will keep my promise."
Even in the shaky and weary voice, a firm conviction could be heard alongside the promise.
Liu Bei nodded with satisfaction. After all, a considerable number of Human Hunters had also been sacrificed in the intense battle.
The giant continued, "Thjazi."
He looked at Thjazi. Facing him, the giant could see that Thjazi’s face was as full of conflicting emotions as his own. There were as many wounds on Thjazi’s body as there were on Thrymr.
The two looked strikingly similar.
Thrymr stated firmly, "Kill me."
"…!"
The giant fell to his knees and continued, “Regardless of the reason, I am a traitor covered with the blood of my people. My vengeance and cause have ended here. Just…”
Thrymr shook his head and looked at Thjazi.
“The only thing that I ask…the ones that followed me, the Nar…I just ask that you let them live…” he said, lowering his head again.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The colossal giant Thjazi walked toward Thrymr.
"…"
All of a sudden, he was holding a large axe in his hand.
Everyone held their breath.
Now, at this moment, no one was allowed to advise Thjazi. This was Thrymr's resolve and Thjazi's choice. They were two giants who had fought for their race.
Their intentions were the same, but their methods were different. They may have gotten the result they had wanted, but the aftereffects of their choices were different.
“I see.”
Because of that, with a quiet voice, Thjazi’s ax fell.
Thud!
***
"Thjazi,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to the giant lying on the bed. The giant was a mess. However, even still, there wasn’t a single bandage to be seen on his body.
‘I guess…’
Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if there was even a bandage he could put on the giant. There was a chance he would have to uproot the very foundation of Utgard in order to find a bandage large enough to cover Thjazi’s wounds.
After the rebellion had ended, everyone who eventually learned about Utgard’s internal affairs had been bewildered.
There was nothing left in Utgard.
While they didn’t know where in the world and on what the king had spent all of the resources, the few remaining supplies were already disappearing. It was a situation in which all the giants could starve in a short time if this continued.
Things had gotten so bad that they had reached the cusp of a revolt.
“Jugyung. Have you arrived?”
“I told you, my name is Lee Jun-Kyeong.”
Lying on a hospital bed, Thjazi turned his eyes to look at Lee Jun-Kyeong. The Hunter was smiling like someone who had made a harmless joke.
"Don't you hate me?"
Lee Jun-Kyeong had asked the question he had held in his mind, his clear eyes staring back at the giant.
If he hadn’t declared his surrender at the crucial moment, then many things could have ended differently. He may not have been able to defeat Thrymr, but he could have led the retreat and returned to defend Utgard once again.
‘No, I could have taken him down too.’
Regardless of what could have happened, it was undeniable that his choices had a profound effect on these giants.
However, to his surprise, Thjazi expressed his gratitude, "Thank you."
The giant continued, "Thanks to you, I was able to make the right choice. You…"
Thjazi raised his thumb toward Lee Jun-Kyeong. It was a thumb that seemed to be at least three times taller than Lee Jun-Kyeong's height.
"You are no different from our warguard."
He was being called a warguard rather than a mercenary. Lee Jun-Kyeong laughed bitterly. "I don't have enough potions to restore your body."
He threw in some jokes to loosen the awkward atmosphere.
“Ha Ta is helping me a lot. He also said that he wouldn’t be able to give me acupuncture. Something about it not being any different than getting bit by a mosquito,” the giant responded.
The two of them chatted for a while. Then, the light in Lee Jun-Kyeong's eyes changed.
They seemed a little more steady and a little bit worried.
"Thjazi." Lee Jun-Kyeong carefully asked his next question, "Do you not regret your choice?"
***
“To think he would say he didn’t have any regrets…” Lee Jun-Kyeong murmured to himself as he walked down the streets of Utgard.
When he had asked the giant if he had any regrets, Thjazi had responded without any hesitation.
“I don’t regret it.”
Seeing those unshakable eyes and hearing that unwavering voice, it was as if he had asked something that he shouldn't have even questioned.
Lee Jun-Kyeong chuckled. It was good to have no regrets about what happened.
Clang, clang!
Furthermore, Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around the noisy street.
"Let's fix this from this side first!"
"Be careful!"
The giants were repairing the city that was destroyed by the rebellion. Originally, it should have been impossible to restore due to the lack of materials.
‘To think they would destroy the royal palace and use its materials.’
Thjazi had been more decisive than expected. Instead of restoring the ruined Utgardian royal palace, he instead had it completely disassembled and used its parts as materials he supplied to the giants.
Although that alone most likely wouldn’t be enough, it would have to do for now as it was something that had to be done urgently.
Lee Jun-Kyeong walked down the street, his surroundings getting noisy and noisier.
'Good.'
The street was full of life.
It really was strange. The king who had ruled and ordered them around had been killed by a rebellion, and the rebels had taken over the fortress.
However, the giants, who could be called civilians, were busy moving even more vigorously than before.
‘Had he been a tyrant?’
The king was someone who had been confusing at the very least. Whether it was the strength he had shown for a few moments or his presence, none of that really made sense. However, at this moment, Lee Jun-Kyeong was sure about one thing. The king’s presence had clearly been something negative if not a malicious tumor to the giants.
"Mr. Lee!"
There was someone waving at Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was immersed in thought.
It was Jeong In-Chang.
Jeong In-Chang spoke out again, "I'm going to help them out for a bit!"
He was helping the giants at the recovery site with a bright smile.
"Goongje!"
The princess was also with him. As expected from the soulmates, the two moved about quickly and were monopolizing the love of the giants.
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled at their happy appearances. Finally, he had arrived at his destination.
"…"
It was the human residential area where he had become a mercenary and lived for a while. He stood in front of what had been his shabby home. Things were a mess here as well.
Although it was said that it hadn’t suffered any harm from the advance of the Nar, it seemed to be in an even worse state than the giants’ residences.
As he looked at the place in front of him, completely broken and ruined, someone pulled on his sleeve.
"Mister."
“I told you to call me oppa. I’m not a mister,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded as he took out some leftover candies from his inventory and handed them over.
The child, Jang Si-Eon, accepted it.
“For what?”
“Teacher Hua Tuo…and that Liu Bei Mister…and even the other adults…”
Jang Si-Eon spoke while counting with her fingers. Eventually, she stopped counting and smiled brightly at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
"It was all thanks to you, Mister—no, Oppa."
Lee Jun-Kyeong patted Jang Si-Eon's head without answering.
He stood in the midst of a ruined human settlement area, but to think that a child had still approached to thank him. Something felt strange.
As he looked over at the living area again, someone else came up and said, “Thank you.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong made a puzzled face at the appearance of a woman he seemed to have met for the first time. However, the woman spoke before he could say anything.
“I’m Si-Eon’s mother. I heard that you had also helped me before when I was sick…but I’ve only been able to introduce myself now,” she said as she pushed a potato into Lee Jun-Kyeong’s hands.
“...”
“As this is everything I have…if we meet again later, I’ll surely repay you in a wonderful way.”
After she expressed her thanks, the woman took Si-Eon and walked away.
‘A wonderful repayment, huh.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong thought for a moment as he looked at the potato in his hand. When they were in Mt. Baekdu, there had been so many potatoes that he hadn’t even wanted to look at them.
However, here, as the woman had said, it was everything, as it was difficult to find food in a barren land that had become a land of ice.
Lee Jun-Kyeong asked himself a question.
Wasn’t this act of giving him everything they had also a wonderful repayment?
Crash!
At that moment, several buildings collapsed.
“Oh dear, I told you to be careful!”
He heard people’s voices.
"You have to dismantle it! You can't break it!"
There were people in that direction, destroying the houses they had lived in and collecting the wreckage.
Lee Jun-Kyeong approached them and asked them a question, “Do you know where those people are?”
Although it was out of the blue, the residents smiled brightly and responded, “They are over on that side!”
"Thanks!"
"Thank you!"
As Lee Jun-Kyeong walked in the direction indicated by the residents, the residents' thanks echoed from behind him.
***
“Heave, ho!”
The area where Lee Jun-Kyeong had arrived had a construction site that was busier than the residential area on the outer border where his previous house had been located.
Destruction was taking place around him, and the residents were laughing as they demolished their homes and rejoicing as they lifted up the rubble.
In the midst of that “gruesome” scene, two men called out to him.
“Mr. Jun-Kyeong.”
“Lee Jun-Kyeong.”
One was Hua Tuo, also known as Won-Hwa, the man he had come to China for.
The other was Liu Bei.
“What’s going on?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
The man in front of him had supposedly betrayed the humans around him and stood on the side of the Nar, but in truth, he had made such a hard choice for his people.
Now, the results were showing.
After winning the battle and getting what he had desired, Liu Bei had come back and explained the details to the others. In return, the humans of Utgard moved on as if it wasn’t a big deal.
‘Well…’
‘As we haven’t suffered any irreparable damage…’
The results of their talks had been good, and that was why this sort of destruction was taking place now.
“Where do you think you all will go?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.
Liu Bei shrugged. “I don’t know yet. My two younger brothers are currently conducting reconnaissance over a few places we had seen before, so we should decide it soon.”
This was the result that had been obtained by winning the battle. All of the humans in Utgard had decided to leave the fortress. This was a place where they were completely different in civilization, culture, history, and even race.
Utgard was the safest place for them, and if they chose to stay in the fortress, they most likely would have been able to find peace with them someday…
“Soon, we will take back our country.”
The residents had decided to join in the cause of Liu Bei.
They wanted to try for the reconstruction of China. For that to happen, the people of China had to exist, and so these residents would become the people of reconstructed China.
"The giants have agreed to help protect us until we are settled,” the Hunter said.
Liu Bei seemed to be satisfied with everything.
"And again… There will be a lot of work to be done in the future."
He looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
"I will travel around mainland China as soon as the residents have settled down. Just in case, I have to go search for survivors that we may not know about."
Having said that, he looked at the residents and continued, "Furthermore… There is something I would like you to help with."
Liu Bei's eyes were trembling.
