Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 268

Chapter 268

‘Yuri Orlov’

The Prime Minister of Russia, and at the same time an S-class Hunter who stands at the pinnacle of actual state power.

At present, no human being in Russia has the courage to enter Yuri Orlov’s room without permission.

Even if it weren’t for his military might, the tight security posture of bodyguards, armed soldiers, and hunters responsible for his immediate safety was superior even to the president.

But surprisingly, the intruder who had just appeared in front of him had entered his room without even his bodyguards noticing.

Moreover, he was showing a sarcastic attitude in front of Yuri Orlov without any intimidation.

[Are you deaf? Your damn barrier has been breached.]

“What?”

Clang!

Yuri Orlov’s brow furrowed, and the wineglass in his hand shattered.

Sharp shards of glass shattered.

The red liquid inside it floated into the air and formed a round shape in front of Orlov’s eyes, sloshing around.

Like blood trapped in an invisible fishbowl.

‘Boundary’

Yuri Orlov’s signature skill, and the ability that helped him rise from the bottom to this position.

To say that it had been pierced was a real blow to Yuri Orlov’s lofty pride.

“No way. The barrier of the terrarium is perfect. No one can break through it.”

[You’re overconfident. But it was breached. Some idiots broke through your barrier and trampled and burned one of my favorite flower pots. You were so confident, but how poorly did you make the barrier?]

Ugh!

At those words, Yuri Orlov gritted his teeth and glared at the intruder with a frightening expression.

Kookookookook!

At the same time, an enormous killing intent poured out from Orlov’s entire body towards the intruder.

Among the citizens of Russia today, there is probably no one who can withstand his anger in his right mind.

Yuri Orlov is the pinnacle of absolute power, even placing the president at his feet.

With just one word from him, even a person who had lived a life without shame and looked up to the heavens could be sent enced to death right now.

But the intruder in front of him seemed to have no interest in Orlov’s life, and instead glared at him and ground his teeth.

[Relax those eyes right now. I want to pluck them out. I don’t care about your petty pride. What matters is my flower pot.]

He crossed his arms and leaned back against the glass window through which Orlov was looking down.

[So tell me. Are you sure there are no loopholes in your barrier?]

“does not exist.”

Yuri Orlov answered firmly.

At the same time, his large palm grabbed the red wine that had formed into a round shape that sloshed before his eyes.

Kkwaduk!

The S-class hunter’s tremendous evil power pressed against the red orb.

But unlike the wine glass that had broken earlier, his transparent barrier easily withstood his evil power.

“Look. This is the barrier I put up in the terrarium. I poured a large amount of magic stones into it, and created a barrier so strong that even an S-rank hunter could not break it with all his might.”

[Don’t be overconfident. I never expected the power of a mere human to be perfect. I just have a problem with your barrier, so I’m asking for a solution.]

“…hmm.”

Yuri Orlov’s fiery spirit gradually subsided as he watched the intruder calmly respond with the same attitude, ignoring even his own life.

He calmed down, crossed his arms, leaned back on the sofa, and asked the intruder again.

“Which one is that broken flower pot?”

[North Korea.]

“Hmm. North Korea… … That place was created with great care, even if it was just because of the already picky Korean association president.”

[I know, too. So think about what the problem is. There are more than one or two of my flower pots in paradise, and if one gets punctured, it means the same thing can happen to the other pots. That wouldn’t be good for you either, right?]

“I’ve said it many times, but no one can break through my barrier. Especially North Korea, not only Woo Jin-cheol, but also

Choi Jong-in… … .”

Stop.

Yuri Orlov, who had been rubbing his chin to collect his thoughts for a moment, suddenly shut his mouth.

If you think about it, even your perfectly flawless barrier wasn’t without its flaws.

I realized there was a glimmer of possibility.

“… … What if it wasn’t a power breakthrough?”

[You are overconfident to the end. Are you saying that Elvenwood opened its doors to intruders directly from within?]

“Yeah. Wouldn’t that make more sense?”

[There is no reason for Elvenwood to do that.]

Orlov snorted and sneered at his firm tone.

“I will also take your word for it. Don’t be overconfident. If you don’t know the reason, shouldn’t you find out for yourself from now on? There’s a problem in the paradise you cherish, and you’re just going to whine like this? You’re the one who calls yourself the ‘Apostle of Paradise’?”

‘Apostle of Paradise’

Yuri Orlov glared at the intruder who was called by that name, his eyes as cold as a snake’s and his teeth bared.

“Besides, didn’t you cast a perception-obstructing spell near the terrarium in the first place? You even put up a spatial distortion, so who were you to think that no one would be able to find the terrarium even though it was right in front of them? It was you, wasn’t it?”

[… … .]

This time, the Apostle of Paradise had no choice but to keep quiet at Yuri Orlov’s words.

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

‘Terrarium’

The area surrounding the pot where the Elvenwood was growing was covered in a thick blue fog, making it impossible to identify it even when looking down through a satellite camera.

Moreover, even when you actually got close, you couldn’t see the giant Elvenwood even though it was right in front of you because of the perception-obstructing magic mixed with the blue fog.

There is even a spatial distortion there, so that even if you walk straight towards the terrarium, you will naturally pass by on the side street.

but.

It wasn’t perfect either.

The Apostle of Paradise nodded and muttered silently.

[… … Certainly. Perception-obstructing magic and spatial distortion only apply to the ground. If you can get on an airplane in the sky and get right in front of the terrarium, it’s not completely impossible.]

but.

That couldn’t have happened in the first place.

Because there were always a lot of wild spirits flying around the terrarium.

Flying in the sky by plane or helicopter is purely suicidal.

No matter how strong a hunter was, unless he had wings, it was much safer to fight with his feet on the ground.

Therefore, in order to pass near the terrarium, it was only possible to move on the ground.

Any hunter.

“Which flower pot is that broken?”

[North Korea.]

Yuri Orlov picked up the tablet on the corner of the table and leisurely scrolled through it in response to the apostle’s answer.

“Okay, let’s see. North Korea, North Korea… … .”

His fingers scrolled down the screen and suddenly stopped in front of recent news from Korea.

-Breaking News) Hunter Sung Soo-ho decides to go to North Korea!

-Hot Pick) Cha Hae-in appears riding a black dragon!

“… … Black dragon?”

When he clicked on the article, a photo enlarged and appeared in front of him.

A black dragon spreading its huge wings and flying towards North Korea.

And here is the image of Seongsuho riding on it and leaving for North Korea.

Yuri Orlov’s expression hardened.

‘India’s hero, Sung Su-ho’

His abilities were not yet known to the outside world.

It was because the Korean association tightly blocked information about him.

But when I saw him riding that black dragon, I was finally convinced.

“… … So you’re a summoner hunter after all? Then, are those black beasts not all Dungeon Breakers, but summoned beasts?”

It’s an outrageous ability.

Yuri Orlov’s expression became serious.

A photo of Seongsuho taken in India.

The countless black summons standing next to Seong Su-ho were all due to Seong Su-ho’s personal power?

What this meant was that the uneasy feeling he had when he first saw the article about Sung Soo-ho was correct.

But now it’s possible to summon dragons?

“Even if he’s an S-class hunter, in order to show that level of performance, he’d have to draw in external magical power like

me. Surely it’s impossible for an individual to obtain that much magical stones, and he’s an association hunter who was secretly trained in Korea?”

I know because I used the magic stone myself.

Considering the number of summoned creatures he had summoned in India, Yuri Orlov can roughly estimate how many magic stones Seongsuho must have consumed.

“Korea is a democratic country. It is legally impossible to pour that much money into an individual. Even Woo Jin-cheol would not be able to do something so outrageous. Or, could it be that… this guy Seong Su-ho is like me?”

You see as much as you know.

Yuri Orlov’s eyes flashed as he glared at Seong Su-ho’s face in the photo.

As if he had noticed the truth hidden behind Korea.

“This guy named Seongsuho. Maybe he’s a hunter who controls state power from behind the scenes like me.”

Suspicion soon became certainty.

Didn’t Yuri Orlov himself prove that if those with power have the means, it is quite possible to rule a country?

“If not, then there is a possibility that Woo Jin-cheol ruled Korea from the beginning. Seong Su-ho is either a secret weapon that Woo Jin-cheol has been secretly hiding, or he has a weakness… … .”

Several hypotheses emerged, but at this point, one was the most important.

Of all people, it was Seongsuho who rode a giant dragon and flew across the sky to North Korea.

And the fact was that along that path there were terrariums that he had personally hidden by creating barriers.

As soon as he grasped the situation, a cruel smile appeared on Yuri Orlov’s lips.

“Huh. As expected, I felt uneasy from the first time I saw you.”

As the saying goes, bad predictions always come true.

Yuri Orlov grinned as he handed the tablet screen over to the Apostle of Paradise.

“See? Now I see, the problem wasn’t me, it was you.”

Then he drank the entire bottle of wine on the table and openly mocked him with a smug expression.

“Anyway, apostles are always like this. They usually act like they’re great and dirty, but when a problem arises, they come and whine.”

[… … .]

Yuri Orlov chuckled as he gave a proper blow to the unlucky foreign messenger.

But despite his blatant mockery, the Apostle of Paradise did not react at all and just stared at the photo of Seongsuho that he had handed him.

Especially the appearance of the shadow dragon Kaisel that Seongsuho is riding.

[… … This really doesn’t make sense.]

The eyes of the Apostle of Paradise, who had seen the numerous soldiers of the Guardians standing right below, were shaking without mercy.

[How can the Shadow Legion exist on Earth?]

“The Shadow Legion?”

Yuri Orlov tilted his head at the term, which he heard for the first time.

But, regardless of his reaction, the Apostle of Paradise had a serious expression on his face, thinking about the worst-case scenario.

[… … No way? No, that can’t be.]

The worst case scenario.

The probability that the Shadow Lord, who should be in outer space, has come to Earth.

[Absolutely impossible.]

okay.

No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

So what are the chances that he sent only the Shadow Legion to Earth and not himself?

That also didn’t make sense.

[It’s too far. Magic can’t reach. If that were possible, our apostles wouldn’t have to do such a troublesome thing.]

Just as the power of the outside world does not reach the Earth, the power of the Shadow Lord would not reach here either.

The distance between that place and the Earth’s dimension was too far for that to happen.

[… … Then who on earth is this person?]

“Who is it? The hottest hunter in Korea, Seong Su-ho. Oh, that’s right. You noble apostles aren’t interested in the names of

mere humans, are you?”

[No, now I’m interested. Anything is fine. I need information about this human.]

“Hehe, that is indeed a very troublesome and difficult request. Seong Su-ho’s information is top secret even in Korea. If you grant me this difficult request, what can you do for me?” 1

[What do you need?]

Hehe.

Looking at the expression of the Apostle of Paradise, the corners of Yuri Orlov’s mouth went up and a meaningful expression appeared on his face.

“It’s nice to hear a refreshing answer. I can’t possibly hate you guys like this.”

[for a moment.]

Ouch.

During the conversation, the expression on the Apostle of Paradise’s face suddenly became distorted.

[Just now, another flower pot was broken.]

“what?”

Yuri Orlov’s expression also distorted.

“Where is that?”

[Closest to the broken flower pot.]

“That son of a bitch is real.”

It seemed certain that the culprit was Seong Su-ho.

But isn’t that too much?

He destroyed the terrarium he worked so hard to create twice in one day!

Considering the value of the ‘fruits’ produced in the terrarium, this was an astronomical loss for Yuri Orlov.

“This is a big problem. If we just sit here like this, the other flower pots will be in danger too.”

However, it was too early to send troops there, as the opponent was an S-class hunter.

Moreover, because the location was North Korea, it could have developed into a political problem.

That was the reason why I used perception-impairing magic to hide the terrarium in the first place.

There is no need for any kind of perception-impairing magic in the terrariums in the Russian lands he rules.

[I’ll go and see. In the meantime, you find out everything about the human named Seongsuho.]

Swish.

The apostle of paradise left those words behind and disappeared from that place without a trace.

Like graffiti erased by an eraser.

“That ghostly guy.”

Yuri Orlov threw a bottle of wine at the place where he had disappeared.

“Who dares to give orders to you?” 1

And then he immediately called his secretaries and began investigating Seong Su-ho.

But, one thing.

There were still some parts I didn’t understand.

“… … Seriously, how on earth did you break through my barrier?”

Even though Seongsuho has an army of summoned beasts.

Even if you have the talent to fly while riding a dragon.

What he is saying is that the barrier he has painstakingly created is not a barrier that can be broken through with a mere barrage of force.

“As I said, there’s no way Elvenwood would actually open the door on its own… … .”

Yuri Orlov muttered with a dubious expression.

But as always, ominous feelings are never wrong.

* * *

“You are a lost young elf.”

“Let me show you our beautiful city, Elvenwood.”

Broadway!

The door opened.

With the small, childish elf Sirka at the forefront, Elvenwood opened its tightly locked barrier and welcomed the guardian party.

And towards the smiles of the high elves who came out to greet him, full of pretense and hypocrisy.

Suho just left one word.

“three.”

“…what?”

“This is the third time. Yonggol.”

[Use ‘Skill: Breath of Destruction’.]

Kuwaaaaang-

“Wh, what?!”

There was no mercy in the protective flames pouring out towards the terrified high elves.

“There is no need for conversation between us.”