They quickly quietened down.

So I announced firmly, "We will depart in exactly five days. So, please calm down and take a good rest. In the meantime, form a group of at least ten people first, then gather ten groups to form 100, then the 100 member groups join to form 1,000, and lastly a team of 10,000 encompassing all the teams. However, if you oppress or use threats to form a group, I will leave you behind. I hope you can be wise enough to include the children and elderly in your group, so I won't desert you because I got annoyed by the composition of your team."

Of course, I could speak to them a little more gently, or I could encourage or praise them.

But I was not here on a fun picnic with 10,000 people. I needed to escape this place teeming with monsters. So, I decided that it's better to take a tough stance toward them.

After that, I didn't pay any attention to them because I already made my message very clear to them. If my message was not strong enough to convince them, I could teach them a lesson by taking action.

Five days later.

The crowd of 10,000 people was much smarter and more quick-witted than I thought.

As I requested, they formed groups of 10, 100, 1000, and finally 10,000, and they made sure each team had a good mix of men and women, old and young, so there was nobody left behind.

Of course, I didn't just sit idle while they were busy forming groups.

Using Fly and Blink with zero cooldown, I checked the location of the Borneche Expedition and spied on their activities secretly. Unfortunately, I had to stop spying at the first gate because they got rid of the gatekeeper there and already crossed the gate.

So I went straight to the gate.

Then a message rang.

[If you pass the first gate, you will be moved to the 2nd stage.

-If you want to move back to the 1st stage after moving to the 2nd stage, you are required to wait five days.]

It took the Borneche Expedition about two days to move from the starting point to the first gate.

And if I followed them to the first gate and moved to the 2nd stage, I would need five days of cooldown to move back to 1st stage where the starting point was located.

I had no problem with such a long cooldown, given that the safety zone at the entry point would last seven days, but if I didn't appear for five days during the cooldown, these 10,000 people would have no choice but to feel not only nervous but also scared, no matter how well I explained to them about the situation. In particular, they might feel that I abandoned them, so I stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, they were standing right before me in an orderly manner.

I shouted, "Move, everybody!"

"Got it!"

"Understood!"

As if they thought they didn't waste the past five days, all of the 10,000 people responded loudly.

A little later.

Even if they bundled up in close groups, it was inevitable that 10,000 formed a huge group when they moved. Of course, I could protect them from the monsters, using Blink with zero cooldown, but it was really a big task for me.

Did I go to the trouble of teleporting back and forth to take care of them?

No, I didn't, because I had something that could save me the trouble.

It was none other than the roots.

Puck! Puck!

"Kheeeeeeel!"

"Khuuuuuuuuk!"

"Kehek!"

Watching the monsters collapse at the attack of the roots, the ordinary people shouted in excitement and admiration.

"Wow!

"Look at all the monsters collapsing at a single strike!"

"How many roots are there?"

"I think at least ten…"

"Nope. A little ago more than 100 wolf-like monsters charged at us, but more than 20 roots sprang up from the ground at once and smashed them."

"Really? I wonder if they are trees…"

"No, they came out of the ground. Looking at their color, they are roots."

"That's right. They're definitely roots. Look! They are burrowing back into the ground after killing the monsters."

"Man, they're great. I was really worried because there was only one man who was protecting all of us 10,000 poeple. I didn't know how safe we were. I feel like I'm out here for a walk."

"Hey! I already told you, man. He's the strongest man on Earth! America? China? Even if they mobilize aircraft carriers, Juyoung Hong will sink them by simply snapping his fingers."

"Don't lie. You were so worried yesterday that you couldn't even sleep."

"No, I wasn't! I've always trusted Juyoung Hong!"

As soon as the monsters appeared, I killed them with a single strike.

Moreover, they could not help but smile brightly in satisfaction when they thought that not only I but also dozens of roots would strongly protect the territory they were stepping on. Then often looked at Juyoung Hong with twinkling eyes as if he, who was floating over their heads, was a god protecting them.

Over the heads of the 10,000 ordinary people.

"Hmm."

Since there were too many people here, I needed to float above them using Fly to secure a clear view. Even though Fly would simply float me in the air instead of truly flying, I could fly to some extent perhaps because my Intellect reached over 60,000 now.

Of course, I felt some frustration about how slow the huge crowd was moving.

Moreover, they needed to take a break every now and then because there were children and the elderly among them.

"Well, no problem. I can put up with their speed as it is now."

Since I expected they would move very slowly, I stopped worrying about it anymore.

The decisive reason why I stopped worrying was because of the roots.

Puck! Puck!

"Kheeeeeeeek!"

"Khuuuuuuuk!"

I didn't even know how many roots there were in the ground.

All I knew was that since the main root was very old, so many roots must have stuck into the vast area underground for a long time. However, what was certain was that after the main root absorbed the parasites and produced the longer, broader white root, the other roots also multiplied and grew larger. So I didn't have to deal with the monsters charging at us from all directions.

Puck! Puck!

The roots got rid of them right away whenever they appeared.

"By the way, without the roots…"

I shuddered at that thought.

It was clear that without the roots I would have certainly been pretty busy running around back and forth using Blink with zero cooldown instead of moving comfortably like this, floating over them with my legs crossed. And there would inevitably have been some casualties.

Anyway, looking at the strong roots in satisfaction, I headed out to the first gate.

A few days later.

"Alright. We're going to spend the night here."

"Okay!"

"Got it!"

The Borneche Expedition team reached the first gateway from the starting point in just two days.

But four days had passed, and this group of 10,000 ordinary people had not yet reached the first gate. More precisely, we had only covered about 30% of the distance to the first gate.

So, I had no choice but to be a bit frustrated because of how slow they were moving.