Chapter 282: The Tempting Demons and Advancing Humanity

Translator: Pai_

The moment Iron, who had gone into the ruins alone, stepped back outside, the ruins that had looked so sturdy began to crumble.

"……So it's done, then?"

Iron turned around and steeled himself.

It was because he thought of the Dimensional Shop Owner who had believed in him and gambled on him.

After staring at the collapsed ruins for a while, Iron turned his head again, and there stood the Masters and the two Family Heads.

"Sorry for coming back late."

The faces of the Military’s commanders were full of worry. Though they tried not to show it, even Lioner’s face looked worn as if he had worried a lot.

"Seeing this guy trying to act cool is hilarious."

Terrion said that while patting Lioner on the back.

It was because just moments ago, Lioner had looked like he was about to break through the barrier and rush in.

If the ruins had collapsed before Iron had come out, Lioner would have broken the barrier without further thought.

"More importantly, what happened in there?"

At Ariel’s question, who had approached before they realized it, everyone looked at Iron.

They all wore expressions that said they were curious about what had happened inside.

It was understandable, as there was now a system window floating right in front of the collapsed ruins.

[All goods in the Dimensional Shop have been sold out!]

"Uh..."

Iron looked at the Dimensional Shop he had bought out.

At that very moment, a system voice rang out to Iron.

[You have single-handedly bought out all the goods of the Dimensional Shop. You have accomplished the achievement 'Cleaning Out the Dimensional Shop All by Yourself!']

-Not only did you solo-clear the Dimensional Shop quest, which usually requires many participants, you even bought it out entirely.

-This is a truly astonishing feat.

-Many Transcendents celebrate your astonishing achievement!

The System personally praised Iron, who had bought out the Dimensional Shop that even a crowd of participants had never managed to clear out, and it even set off a fanfare.

As illusory paper confetti rained down from the empty air and the sound of a fanfare rang out, Iron put on a dumbfounded expression.

The strange thing, though, was that even though it was a personal achievement, everyone else was hearing that voice too.

"Uh... um... did you all hear that?"

To his question, everyone nodded their heads with an almost burdensome enthusiasm.

And they looked at him with eyes that seemed to burn.

Avoiding those gazes, Iron quickly turned his head and said,

"For now... let's clean up the area a bit."

The moment Iron said that, a massive amount of Divine Power erupted from his body and spread out around him.

As the endlessly spreading Divine Power began purifying the corrupted land, everyone looked on in awe.

Until now, it had only been used in battles or to build sanctuaries, so no one had seen it used like this. The range of Divine Power spread solely for purification was immense.

"...Amazing."

Terrion said in admiration.

The same went for the others.

Seeing areas being purified in real time, so far away they couldn’t even see the full extent of it, was a sight that naturally drew exclamations.

"Let’s move."

When Iron spoke to the two Family Heads, they nodded.

But they had one misunderstanding.

They thought the purification would end with just this one time.

Even while Iron, the two Family Heads, and the commanders boarded the airship and began moving, he continued the purification work.

As the Divine Power filled the airship and spread outward from the air, it fell over the desert like particles of light.

Thanks to that, the blackened desert began to return to a landscape of golden sand.

"Baepsae, take control."

-Tweet!

At Iron’s request, the Blue Baepsae directly controlled the massive amount of Divine Power flowing from his body.

Meanwhile, Iron gathered the two Family Heads and commanders.

And he briefly explained the events that had happened at the Dimensional Shop.

He explained that he had cleared the quest, that because of it the number of Gates would have decreased, and that their power too would be reduced when they emerged.

"So that's……."

"No wonder the system voice suddenly said the number of Gates was decreasing..."

Everyone nodded as if they finally understood.

When they first heard the system voice, they had thought they were hallucinating.

Some even wondered if the system had broken.

However, the commanders quickly came to their senses and contacted the central government to verify the situation. As a result, they received a report confirming that the number of Gates marked in the capital had indeed been reduced by half.

To be more certain, the Military even personally visited the area, and they were able to confirm that the fluctuating space had completely disappeared.

"…I see."

Hearing a definite confirmation from Caeden Wall and Ariel that the number of Gates had decreased, Iron showed a satisfied expression.

‘The system really does its job quickly and efficiently.’

Thinking that, Iron opened his mouth again.

"Lastly…"

Iron also explained what had happened with the Dimensional Shop Owner.

In fact, the reason he was explaining everything that had happened inside in such detail was precisely because of this.

"So... you're saying that if we build their temples, we will receive rewards."

"Yes. So, as soon as we return to the capital, we must build their temples."

At Iron’s words, everyone nodded.

Of course, the two Family Heads seemed indifferent.

It wasn’t directly related to them, after all.

On the other hand, from the Military's perspective, it was a welcome development.

"Ancient magic, huh... The Tower Master is going to go crazy."

"The Institute of Science and the Artisans' Union will be the same."

"Honestly, all these benefits are practically theirs."

The commanders murmured among themselves, chatting about the benefits the Tower and the Artisans' Union would gain.

But from the Military's perspective, this wasn’t a bad thing.

Because their development would bring better weapons to the Military.

"Contact Central immediately."

"Yes!"

At Ariel's command, the communications officer moved quickly.

After Iron's accomplishments were reported to the central government, the two Family Heads boarded another airship to return to their respective families.

The Special Defense Forces also returned to headquarters to resume their original mission, leaving only the Mobile Field Army behind.

"I can move alone, really."

"But you’re the Supreme Commander. How can you move alone?"

At Ariel’s words, the others also nodded in agreement.

"It would only waste manpower."

Even when Ariel suggested he use the commander’s exclusive airship of the Mobile Field Army, Iron firmly refused and instead told them what they needed to do.

"Build forward bases centered on the areas I’ve purified."

"Are you worried it will become polluted again?"

At Ariel’s question, Iron shook his head.

The desert regions of the Auzria Continent were larger than expected. It was a vast territory that accounted for more than half of the Empire.

Even one-third of the Holy Alliance’s territory was desert, showing how vast the area was.

However, among the Gates marked in the Imperial capital, the number in the desert region was very small.

Almost all were marked only near where the Dimensional Shop was located.

After clearing the Dimensional Shop, Iron had given some thought to the desert region and found this part strange.

‘Was it two?’

There were only two Gates marked beyond the Dimensional Shop’s area.

Iron found this odd.

So he decided to investigate directly.

Now that Destruction was imminent, he felt that, at the very least, he needed to have perfect knowledge of the Auzria Continent. So he decided to use this opportunity to thoroughly explore the desert that had remained an unknown region.

"Are you intending to investigate the Gates?"

As Ariel immediately grasped Iron's thoughts and asked, he smiled gently and nodded.

"It's strange no matter how I look at it. I might as well investigate it properly while I purify the desert region."

At Iron’s words, Ariel narrowed her eyes and said,

"I can already hear Colonel Faulden's wailing."

At Ariel’s words, Iron began sweating nervously and avoided her gaze.

Even at Central, Faulden had been working overtime with Iron every day. Now that he might have to handle Iron’s workload on top of his own, it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed.

The mountain of paperwork stacked on his desk was no doubt still growing rapidly even now.

Shiver!

Iron involuntarily trembled as he thought to himself.

'How did I manage this in my past life?'

In his previous life, he had managed to handle mountains of paperwork while fending off monsters. But in this life, it was particularly difficult.

At times like this, he couldn’t help but envy Earth’s electronic systems.

"Hmm-hmm… Anyway, set up the forward bases centered on the Mobile Field Army. And have the Special Defense Forces review the establishment of a supply line from the Mobile Field Army Headquarters to the forward bases."

"Is that an order from the Supreme Commander?"

"Yes."

At Iron’s response, Ariel stood straight and saluted.

"Understood!"

"Take care of it."

As Iron said that, he called for the Two Moons.

Then the Two Moons looked at Iron with an expression full of annoyance.

It was asking why he kept riding on its back when he could fly on his own.

Though Iron could fly himself after forming a contract with Hræsvelgr, he frequently chose to ride the owl's back because it was more comfortable.

However, recently the owl had been growing increasingly annoyed and kept protesting to Iron.

It would be one thing if he couldn’t fly, but now that he could, the situation was different.

The owl, who hated troublesome things, stared sharply at Iron, but when Iron climbed onto its back with a smile, it let out a deep sigh and soared into the sky.

–Buuuu!

At some point, the Thunderbird and Phoenix had shrunk down and perched on Iron’s shoulders.

And Hræsvelgr settled next to the Blue Baepsae.

Seeing all of them travel in their miniaturized forms while only it had to grow large to fly, the owl protested.

"Next time, I’ll ride on Phoenix. Or should I ride the Thunderbird?"

Iron said that, but he figured he’d probably ride the owl again next time too.

Though, as the contractor, he wouldn't be harmed by Phoenix’s flames or the Thunderbird’s lightning, it still made him feel uneasy.

And so, with the owl’s quiet protest, Iron began flying over the desert regions, purifying any trace of corrupted energy he saw.

All he had to do was ride the owl around while releasing Divine Power, and the Blue Baepsae would naturally add its ability and purify the surroundings on its own.

In just a few days, Iron had purified the entire area surrounding the Dimensional Shop, and now he turned his gaze beyond it.

He hadn’t purified the entire desert region yet, but this much was enough.

What was urgent now was confirming what lay beyond the Dimensional Shop.

"It’s golden here."

Though the western region of the Auzria Continent had also been tainted by darkness due to the influence of the Dimensional Shop, as he moved a little further, golden sand dunes came into view.

At that moment, Iron heard the system voice.

[The Lord God's domain is expanding.]

–With the expansion of the domain, the western region of the continent will now be displayed on the map in the capital.

[Due to some interference, the Lord God was unable to completely take over the continent. The issue is now resolved!]

–As a reward, Gate occurrence points across the entire continent will be revealed.

–An additional blessing will be granted due to the Lord God's domination of the continent.

–As the Lord God gains control of the entire continent, the entry of corrupted beings becomes more difficult.

–A personal reward has been granted: the ‘Hero of the Continent’ achievement has been created.

"Hero of the Continent…"

Iron unconsciously murmured.

Having been active throughout the entire Empire, he had already achieved the perfect "Hero of the Empire" achievement, but he had yet to obtain the "Hero of the Continent" title.

In truth, after defeating Odin, he had personally hoped for that reward, and had been disappointed when he didn’t receive it.

But now, it seemed that achievement was finally about to be fulfilled.

***

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