There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 537 - 530. Call of the Wind

Chapter 537: Chapter 530. Call of the Wind

It had been more than a year since they found the gorge separating the Castle area from the plains. The bridge was already finished, and it even had a lift function to break off the way in an emergency. Rather than crossing the plains and conquering it, however, they preferred to sail through the river and tried to see if it really connected to the sea.

For that, Mortix had been building a ship for the past year.

And no--of course they couldn’t just use an already available ship that wasn’t meant to withstand the Deathzone’s harsh condition. They had to design it from scratch to maximize protection and resilience, using the data about the fragments and the shards to create the best materials.

They also had to make sure it wasn’t too big to move swiftly, but still sufficient to sail the sea if there really was one. Above all else, it would need to be equipped with enough weapons and support, including a railgun, a wide area radar, and three kinds of communication devices.

And, as a bonus, Radia had to use his family’s dimensional storage bo--one of the only three dimensional storages with that large of space in the continent--to move the ship from Mortix’s warehouse to the Deathzone, with two squads of House Mallarc’s agents as a bodyguard for said box.

The ’unboxing’ process was, naturally, nothing short of a spectacle. Those who had no guard duty came to see it, even if they had to walk on their own through the underground tunnel.

Except for Han Shin, who begged Bassena on his knees to teleport him.

Not even a supership could break his oath to never step foot inside the underground tunnel again.

"Ooh! She’s not very big, but isn’t she a beauty?" Han Shin whistled once the agents took the ship out of the dimensional storage.

As Han Shin said, the ship wasn’t very big; only around fifty meters long. But it was sleek and strong, with gun turrets and a tinted command cabin. Four purification devices were installed inside the ship, not to create a barrier, but to generate fuel by recycling the miasma into mana.

"We can’t make her too big, since she should be able to turn around in the river itself," one of the agents that House Mallac sent, Egar, approached the espers.

Bassena shook the agent’s hand, who would assume the position of the ship’s Captain. "How many people can embark?"

"I’ll take five of my own to man the ship, so there’ll be room for twelve more."

"Understood. Please continue," Bassena nodded, and the Captain returned to finish deploying the ship into the water.

Eastern Federation did not see a lot of sea, or used much of their river for transportation. For anyone coming from there, the view was fascinating. They watched the ship getting slid carefully into the water while having a picnic on the cliff.

"Whoa...I thought it’d be bulky and ugly like a warship, but this kind of looks like a yacht, isn’t it?" Senia sounded uncharacteristically cheerful; eyes bright and face full of smile.

"Do you like it?" Bassena asked the girl.

"Well, of course?"

"Good," Bassena nodded, before adding nonchalantly while patting the girl’s back. "Because you’ll be living there from now on."

Senia paused and parted her lips dumbfoundedly before letting out a hiccup. "...me?"

"Yes, you," Bassena smirked--still patting the girl’s back. And no--he didn’t do it because he wanted to get rid of Senia or anything. "The ship would be more or less stationary in the river while getting attacked. We need someone who can attack from a distance like you."

"Oh..." Senia patted his cheeks to hide her grin. "’kay..."

"Don’t worry, I won’t send you out alone," Bassena chuckled. Naoya would come back soon from the Tower, and no one doubted the archer would reach five-star this time, so he could spare more manpower. "I’m going to send the hunting squad and another five-star--let’s see..."

He swept his gaze across the lounging espers and when he stopped for a few seconds in Zhan’s direction, the spearman crossed his arms in front of his face. "Nope!" Zhan refused strongly before the request even left Bassena’s mouth. "No way! I can’t just stay in one place--do you want my bike to accumulate dust? I’d rather you send me across the desert!"

Bassena couldn’t even get pissed at that strong rejection. Zhan was scowling and pursing his lips as if he was going to sulk for eternity if Bassena confined him in a ship--but while hiding behind Zein.

Thankfully, Bassena didn’t need to think much about the replacement, since someone already volunteered. "I’ll go," Gus raised his hand while chuckling at Zhan’s adamant refusal.

"Oh, would you?" Bassena nodded. Well, Gus and Zhan were the people who got along best with Senia, so was going to ask the swordsman to do it anyway. "Alright, I’m going to send hunting squad three. Zein will give you two guides, so you pick the rest."

"When will we depart?" Gus glanced at the ship, which was already in the water. The crew was in the middle of turning the purification device that would change the miasma into energy.

"She’ll need to charge to full power first, so I won’t make you go immediately."

"Well...it’s not like we need to say goodbye or anything," Gus shrugged.

"Why don’t you go when the Guildmaster is here, then?" Zein suggested. "Didn’t he say they’d be here after their honeymoon? And it’s only right for the Supreme Commander to be here for the first sail."

Bassena snapped his fingers in agreement, and everything was decided quickly. Before they left the cliff after enjoying the ship’s unboxing, Han Shin stroked his chin as he stared at Gus’s back.

"But hey...who will control Zhan if Gus isn’t here?"

Ah...

Kei suddenly had the urge to massage her temple, praying that Naoya wouldn’t take too much time in the Tower.

* * *

Surprisingly, Kei’s prayer was being answered right away, along with a swirl of a familiar portal in front of the stadium.

The first one who came out of the portal during lunchtime, five days after the ship arrived, was not the Guildmaster or his summoned secretary, but Naoya. Fresh from the Tower with his new five-star license.

"I’m not going to refuse a free lift," the archer shrugged before Zhan and Gus attacked him with hair-ruffling and waist-tickling as a celebration.

Radia chuckled as he stepped out of the portal, and another voice commented in amusement. "How lively."

Han Shin didn’t even hesitate as he ran toward the portal and jumped at the man who came behind Radia. "Hyung!"

As if he were an eight-year-old again, Han Shin hugged his older brother, who seemed to be as firm as before. That straight back and perfect posture born from habit, which looked stiff to some people, was a sanctuary for Han Shin. No matter how old he got, Shin would always be his hyung’s baby.

"Are you doing alright?" the deep voice, accompanied with soft pats on Shin’s head--how much he had missed those.

"I’m alright now," Han Shin lifted his face and grinned at his brother’s smiling face. Just like the day he visited his brother in prison, Han Joon looked more relaxed. "Oh, you let your hair grow!"

"There’s no reason for me to look like a proper soldier anymore," Han Joon shrugged. "And he likes it better like this."

Radia cleared his throat and told them to come over. It was the middle of lunch hour, and most of the personnel were there, not-so-subtly gawking. The news of the Guildmaster’s marriage had spread across the bases--even to those who were stationed in the mountain and the castle--so naturally, they were watching Han Joon with interest.

Because who was he? The man who could turn into an invisible ghost if he wanted to; the legendary Mobius ex-Captain.

"Are you going to join us, Hyung?" Han Shin asked excitedly as they approached Anzus’s table--it was the same question that the others had been curious about. "Are you here to look around, then?"

"No, I’m here to check on your condition."

"Hehe..." Han Shin patted his cheeks. He just couldn’t stop smiling, feeling like he was a child again, when his hyung had yet to go into the military.

"But I can’t join you," Han Joon said, shattering his brother’s delight. "Don’t you know that a former soldier is not allowed to join any guild or commercial group?"

Which meant he couldn’t become a mercenary either. The most an ex-soldier could do after discharge was become an advisor or a trainer with no binding contract. This was because of the binding oath they had when they entered the military, including the non-disclosure agreement and non-commercial use of the skills they got while they were in the military. Training or counseling was treated for an educational purpose, and there was a cap on the fees they could receive as per the government laws.

And for someone who had once been listed as an ’offender’, Han Joon would be under even stricter scrutiny.

"I don’t plan on sending him back to prison," Radia said as he took a seat. "But it’s not like there’s no way around it."

"What do you mean?" Zein asked curiously.

The one who guessed the answer, however, was Ron. "The Borderland Unit," the scout smirked. "It’s a separate body, but still a part of the government program...right? That’s why our pay is shit."

"R-really?!" Han Shin gripped the table with excitement. It was one of his dreams; to be on the field with his older brother.

"Well, he’ll practically have to work for free, but..."

Han Joon smiled as he replied nonchalantly. "Are you saying I don’t need money anymore?" everyone glanced at Radia then, who was calmly sipping on his coffee as if he had no business with the conversation. "Well, that’s true; I’m a trophy husband, after all."

Gus laughed at the way Joon said it with pride. Ah, his kind of hero. Zein was right when he said the ex-soldier wasn’t what he seemed to be.

"But that’s a conversation for later," Radia put his cup down. "I’m not ready to let go of my new husband."

"Then why are you here?" Bassena chuckled. "Just to look around?"

"Hmm..." Han Joon smiled subtly and shifted his gaze to a pair of blue ones, who looked at him curiously. "I’m here to kidnap Zein."